One White Feather
by The One and Only Birdie
Summary: What do you get when you take Heihachi's plot, add danger, subtract reason and multiply with the greatest fighers in the world? Chaos! The epic story of Jin and Xiaoyu from Tekken 4 and into 5, including Hwoarang, Julia, Nina, Steve and Panda!
1. Chapter 1: The Announcement

**Chapter One: The Announcement**

"I don't believe it."

18-year-old Ling Xiaoyu tossed the announcement on her bed with a birdlike flick of her wrist. The pages fluttered and settled onto the thick tan comforter covering her bed, and she promptly sat down on her small mahogany chair.

The King of the Iron Fist 4 Tournament was coming up. It had been 20 years since the last official tournament, but Xiaoyu had participated in an unofficial team tournament only two years before. It had been an exhilarating experience. Some of the greatest fighters in the world gathered at Mishima Headquarters, and fought to be named "King of the Iron Fist." There were dozens of fighters, fighting styles, and battle arenas, and it had been incredible to be a part of it. Sitting on her bed was a new opportunity for an adventure; however, this announcement was rather like a lit stick of dynamite being tossed onto her bed. Xiaoyu sighed, and settled deeper in her chair across the room. Her pet panda bear, appropriately named "Panda," crawled out from beneath her window and nudged Xiaoyu's knee with her white cheek.

"Mishima Zaibatsu is having another official King of the Iron Fist tournament," Xiaoyu said to Panda, scratching the coarse hair behind Panda's black ears. "The reward for this one is the Mishima Zaibatsu- that means an entire BUSINESS CORPERATION is on the line! Just think of all I could win, all I could do!"

Xiaoyu was Chinese. However, she had spent the last six or so years of her life living in Japan, attending Mishima High School, and gaining the opportunity to fulfill her dreams. She only did what she enjoyed, and she was very good at the things she did: Chinese martial arts. She was also very gifted at being nice to people, even the ones that she had to fight. Though she was hardly ambitious in any way, shape, or form, owning a business corporation sounded pretty cool to Xiaoyu, despite her minimal experience and knowledge.  
Panda looked up at Xiaoyu with her large dark eyes, the black tear-shaped pattern of fur around her eyes accenting her imploring look. Xiaoyu caught the look almost instantly, and quickly got up, dropping her hip onto the bed next to the piece of paper. No words were needed to explain what Xiaoyu was feeling- she was thinking about the email, not the tournament's reward.

An anonymous email had been sent to her a while ago. The email spoke of threats concerning the Mishima Zaibatsu's owner, Heihachi Mishima. Heihachi is the only man involved with the tournament that everyone knew, because he was the man behind the King of the Iron Fist tournaments ever since they had began. He was getting very old, but his age was not at all debilitating to his reputation for being the most evil and powerful man in Japan. Heihachi always had an evil plan, but according to the email sent to Xiaoyu only weeks before, his plan was going to affect her. Unfortunately, the email didn't give a name, or description of the plan. She had replied to the email, trying hard to get more details, but he or she didn't write back. Still Xiaoyu had a hunch about the identity of the sender.

"I haven't heard from him since that last tournament, the… the tag team one," Xiaoyu noted. "Jin, I mean. Jin Kazama. He's always been nice to me. Well, kind of nice to me." Xiaoyu smiled at Panda, and rolled onto her stomach. Panda growled soothingly, and sat so her nose was near Xiaoyu's nose. Jin was a long time friend of Xiaoyu's. He was one of the first people she met in Japan, and he helped her while she was a freshman at Mishima High School. He had graduated by now, being three years older than her, but they had kept in touch since then. "Do you think I could see him if I went? Jin would be there, he would HAVE to be there somewhere. And what about my dream?" With a wistful smile, Xiaoyu propped her chin on her hand. Panda responded by nudging her forearm affectionately. "Yes… I could make my dream come alive! It would be so incredible, oh; it's too big an opportunity to pass up!"

_But what about the danger? The plot?_ The tiny voice inside Xiaoyu's head piped up cautiously. _The danger that always surrounds Heihachi. Jin COULD be there but Heihachi definitely would._ Xiaoyu looked at Panda. Panda looked at Xiaoyu. "I'll try to win the tournament this time," Xiaoyu said resolutely. "There is absolutely nothing that can stop me from my dream, ESPECIALLY not some ugly evil old guy who wears a judo diaper and yells at people all the time!"

"RAWRGH!" Panda roared in agreement.

"King of the Iron Fist, here I come!"


	2. Chapter 2: The CheckIn

**Chapter Two: The Check-In**

Mishima Zaibatsu was a widely-renowned company. It seemed to do everything: genetic research, scientific experimentation, economic research, martial arts training, education, and merchandising. The headquarters, located in Shinjuku Japan, was recognizable as a building which could house such a business. It was wide enough to take up an entire street and tall enough that when one looked up they couldn't possibly see the top. There were windows along the walls for the upper offices, and rooms without windows to keep secrecy. No one ever questioned the security of the Mishima Zaibatsu- there were rumors of an entire army of people who were at Heihachi's disposal, who stayed awake day and night.

Across the street from Mishima Zaibatsu was a hotel. Dwarfed in comparison to the Zaibatsu, it was still the only hotel nearby. That was where every competitor for the King of the Iron Fist was staying, and where the real drama of the events would be uncovered.  
There were few words effective enough to describe the collage of people attracted to the King of the Iron Fist tournaments. The most polite of these would be 'diverse.' However, that barely begins to cover the variety and distance between each person. The most accurate word would be 'bizzare.' Though each person has mastered their field to a point of near perfection, they all seem disposed to be the oddest people there could be.

Take Ling Xiaoyu, for the sake of example. She was eighteen, wore her hair in pigtails, always dressed in vibrant colors and made a sliding 'huh' noise when she fought- not to mention her best friend was a panda bear. Heihachi had only let her participate in the other tournament because she stowed away on one of his boats, and was found- that is, after she had beaten up every member of the crew and threatened to go berserk on Heihachi.

Throughout the years, there has been a woman in a cat mask who had a mysterious ability to teleport, a man in a cheetah mask who wrestled under an unknown identity, an amnesiac or two, a cyborg seeking revenge and even a man who is surrounded by so much mystery that no one knows whether or not he's from the planet. There have been friends, enemies, family, strangers, and generations who have all been called to fight. Some matches pit instructor vs. pupil, parent vs. child, sibling vs. sibling and pet bear vs. boxing dinosaur.

In one corner of the room was another such novelty. Standing together was a petit man, with dark hair, almond-shaped eyes and light skin, and a tall, blond tank of a man. The large man, Paul Phoenix, fiddled with his wrists, scornfully looking over the other competitors. "I've seen better," he said with certain uncertainty. "This year, it'll be a cinch, eh Law?"  
The smaller man, Marshall Law, meditatively stroked his black beard. "Should time herself stand still, I will overcome all adversity and triumph in the name of all that is good. Should I win, then a whole new era will begin."

Paul cocked an eyebrow, briefly loosing the stressed tension that had been building up inside of him. "Dude, aren't you just starting a restaurant?"

"Not just a RESTAURANT, a culinary MASTERPIECE! I'd have the discipline of the dojo and the deliciousness of food, what more could one want in life?" Law sighed. Paul knew him well; He had been competing in the King of the Iron Fist tournament every single year since their beginning. His son had even come before. He was a master at Martial Arts, and owned a dojo, as well as an entrepreneur. His business life began when he taught first class passengers how to cha cha on a long plane ride, and escalated when he got his own restaurant chain called "Marshall China." However, his restaurant plummeted after a competing company stole his monopoly and forced him to bankruptcy.

"Man, you just need to be RATIONAL, like me!" said Paul, pointing his thumbs to his chest. "All I have do is prove that I truly am the best fighter in the world, nothing big like… business management." Both of them were silent for a moment. It was surprisingly common knowledge that for a long time, Law and Paul had been friends. They were both fighters with high ambitions. Paul consistently came over to Law's house, and they would have sparring matches. Most of them ended in a draw- and both of them would say they went easy on each other. Truth be told, as odd a pair as they were, they both considered each other trustworthy, as well as worthy opponents. Silence was not a place of discomfort for old friends. Finally, Paul said "The only problem with these tournament thingies is that all the people have crazy Japanese names."

"Needless that I remind you, but I have Asian heritage, you know," Marshall said with a light sigh. "But I do know Mandarin and Japanese. Perhaps I could help you with some of the names."

"How about…. How-er-ang?" Paul said with a slight struggle, attempting to pronounce Hwoarang. The name was barely recognizable after he said it, however.

Marshall paused. "Um, that's Korean, Paul, not Japanese. I think it is pronounced 'War-ang,' however."

"Korean, Japanese, same difference… How about… Zay-you," Paul continued, referring to Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu giggled slightly. She was quite accustomed to foreigners mispronouncing her name, and she wasn't at all offended by it. She found it simultaneously amusing, and an efficient beginning of a conversation.

"… Do you mean Sh-ow-you? That is Chinese, not Japanese."

"Geez, got to be all picky and sensitive like that," Paul whined. "It's all Oriental."

Law held his tongue by not reminding Paul that Oriental was a type of rug rather than people who lived in the Orient. They both returned to their comfortable silence.

Xiaoyu moved on in the lobby, having finished her check-out a few minutes before. She was not at all edgy, but she was very eager. Her mind was counting down the moments before that door would open, and an old friend would walk through. At the moment, however, only a bear was walking through.

Yes folks, a bear. There seriously was a bear walking through the broad glass doors of Mishima Zaibatsu, completely unstopped and free.

The bear's name was Kuma, and he was both a Kodak (Kodiak) and a pet for Heihachi Mishima. He gazed around the room as though it were something tiresome and old, rather than grand and magnificent. His gaze rested spitefully on Paul for a moment. Unfortunately for Paul, Kuma had suffered a humiliating loss in the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 3. Ever since then, Kuma had been training in the mountains with only one goal in mind- beat Paul. Beat Paul. And as he gave Paul the evil eye, Paul completely unaware as he desperately struggled to pronounce complex Asian-Pacific-Islander names, all he could imagine was ripping the man to shreds in the ring.

That is, until Kuma noticed Panda.

It was no secret in the wrestling world that Kuma was in love with Panda. It was merely a matter of rejection and species. Truth be told, Kuma has always had a crush on Panda (only a little, of course.) And as Panda crawled by alongside Xiaoyu, Kuma did a double-take. Panda looked back at him, before sticking her black nose high in the air and stalking off.

"What is it, Panda?" Xiaoyu asked. She understood her Panda quite well after the years of camaraderie they shared, and reading a panda bear's expressions proved easier than speculated. Panda made a whining growl in the back of her throat, tossing a look over her shoulder and continuing forward.

Xiaoyu looked at Kuma, and then looked puzzled. "Oh, don't let that Kuma bug you, Panda. He's just love-sick." She patted her head soothingly, and while thinking of "love-sick" added "Have you seen Jin yet? Oh I was so sure he'd be here! He has to be here, I'll die if he isn't!"

Then, the elevator door opened. Xiaoyu couldn't see the doors, since she was standing alongside the wall where the profile of the elevator should be. However, she saw quite clearly something that made her jump- a man, with black hair, broad shoulders, and a considerable height- meaning that if he were to look down at her he would be able to see the top of her head. Her heart skipped. Jin.

He started heading towards the door, so Xiaoyu trotted up quickly and tapped him on the shoulder. "Jin!"

The man turned around. It was not Jin. He looked very much like him, so much like him that Xiaoyu recognized him instantly, even though she had never seen him before. It was Kazuya Mishima, Jin's father, who was thought to be dead for twenty years. Aside from that, he held a very dangerous aura in general. One got a very deep feeling of something else going on inside the man, and it only took Xiaoyu a few moments to look him in the eye to have a shiver of fear run down her spine. Dying had given him a few horrible scars, as well as a slightly red eye.

"Hi," she said, her feigned enthusiasm turning into nervousness very quickly. She had heard rumors about Kazuya, and how he'd thrown his Father, Heihachi, down a ditch after he won the first tournament. "I'm Ling Xiaoyu, I uh, wanted to say Hi! Wow, I thought you were dead." She stopped that sentence quickly, and said instead "I'm glad that you're NOT! It's so nice that you're alive, and I get to MEET you and you look so much like Jin it's amazing, like your… your HAIR, and… your BACK! Well, I'm sorry for bothering you, because you look like someone who doesn't like to be bothered and who has to be somewhere very quickly, but I just wanted to say hi and I'm glad you're alive!"

Kazuya stared at Xiaoyu, his red eye softening. His expression was like that of a person watching someone else does something very foolish. That sort of bemusement was not something Xiaoyu particularly liked, but getting on dangerous men's bad sides was not on her to do list, and wouldn't be any time soon. She quickly bowed with her hands together, and scurried off.

Panda rubbed her forehead against Xiaoyu's white pants comfortingly, giving her a sympathetic panda smile. Xiaoyu started to shake a little. "He was really really creepy," she said softly. She peered over her shoulder to make sure Kazuya had definitely left the hotel. "Gosh, I wonder if Jin knows he's alive."

There are some situations where there is a large variety of people. For example, there can be a large group of people of different races all gathered together, communicating as best they can with a foreign language they are unfamiliar with. There are other situations where one might be amongst many people with different view points, which can cause some debates and animosity. At the King of the Iron Fist Tournaments, however, the diversity is not nearly a blessing. There are many strange and unreadable characters that come, who can be very dangerous despite their strange appearances or off-color pasts.

Xiaoyu knew this quite well. So even though she greeted the amnesiac Nina with a bright smile, she kept in mind that Nina was a trained assassin who had forgotten right and wrong. When she said hello to the wrestling man in a mask named King with a perky wave, she reminisced about the time he did a chain throw that knocked her out at once. And as she smiled hesitantly at more-bear-than-Kuma Craig Murdock she was very respectful of how he had beaten almost every fighter on the face of the planet.

That was one of the things she appreciated so much about Jin. He went to the same school as her, was almost the same age as her and seemed very much normal. Despite the fact he came from a line of power-hungry, back-stabbing killers like Kazuya and Heihachi, he had turned out okay. It would put Xiaoyu at a considerable ease if she were able to see Jin again- someone she knew and recognized. Though he was very mysterious and quiet, he was nothing more than a fellow teenager who had also attended Mishima High with her was talented at Martial Arts.

Her hope was instantly revived when she saw a man leaning on the desk, wearing bright red gloves and a cloak with a large, baggy hood. What she recognized, however, was the hair beneath it- Jin's hair had always stuck up in the back, in a sort of spike. So did the hood of this coat. "OH!" she cried. Taken with energy and hope, she trotted perkily over to the man, and leaned over so he could see her face. "Konichiwa," she said brightly.

The man instantly gave a shout of surprise and jumped visibly. "If you're the mafia, I KNOW you sent an assassin!" a thickly British voice said. The man's hood fell off of his head, revealing blond hair. Not to mention his jaw line was very sharp, and his eyebrows where very thin, unlike Jin's

After Xiaoyu rebounded from her surprise, she said to him, "I'm sorry. I'm not the mafia; I'm just a contender in this Tournament. I'm not an assassin either, I was just mistaken. But I've never seen you before! Who are you?" She rolled back and forth on the balls of her feet as she often did when she felt a little nervous.

The blond man stared at her a moment, before tersely saying "Fox is the name. Steve Fox. Bloody 'ell, you scared the willies right outta me-!" With that, he put his hood back on and walked away.

"Are you looking for someone?" a voice from behind said mischievously.

Xiaoyu turned around, and instantly recognized the speaker as Hwoarang. He had fought in the other tournament Xiaoyu had attended, so she knew of him. He was tall, on the higher end of five feet while Xiaoyu was at the lower end. He had silky, straight red hair that came down past his ears, and a headband keeping it out of his eyes. Many times he had been found riding his motorcycle and cheating naïve people out of their life savings.

"Yes, well, I'm not really finding," she said lamely. She looked around the room glumly. With the intensity that she had while examining the faces, one would thing she expected them to suddenly turn into Jin if she wished hard enough.

Hwoarang's eyes followed where she was looking, before resting on her. "For a moment there, I thought you were just picking fights with the newbies. As well as old man Mishima…" he cocked an eyebrow, watching her reaction with such closeness it made her blush.

"No, I didn't mean to catch Kazuya, and it was so rude of me to just run up to him, but I thought he was someone else," she stammered. After looking him in the eye for a moment however, she slid back into her normal peppy ease. "Oh, and that Steve guy, I feel so bad! He sounded so scared I think I almost gave him a heart-attack! I mean, what if the mafia's really after him?"

There was a pause, before Hwoarang smiled with the corners of his mouth and shook his head, "Oh, Zay-you…"

"Xiaoyu," Xiaoyu corrected with a lighthearted smile.

"Alright, Xiaoyu, you do realize that Steve Fox is British, right?"

Xiaoyu thought for a moment, pressing her finger to the tip of her chin. She had instantly recognized his accent as British, it was very distinct. He definitely didn't sound American. "Well, yeah, I know that!" she said defensively.

"Now, Xiaoyu, the British have a very… odd sense of humor," Hwoarang explained. He didn't' seem quite as intense in what he was saying, and now had a very nonchalant attitude. "He was just trying to get a rise out of you, trying to be witty in a very British way. I saw a British movie once. It was strange, I tell you. Not funny at all."

Xiaoyu nodded impressionably. It sounded like it could be right, after all, Hwoarang had seen a British movie, and Steve did have a British accent. And how many people who had the mafia on their tail would introduce themselves like that? All these questions and more distracted here from the real question: Why was Hwoarang talking to her in the first place? By now, she had been put at ease simply by having a human to converse with. Though there was nothing wrong with having a Panda as a best friend, there were times when human interaction was appreciated.

All this drama and more weighed down on the minds of each contender in the tournament. Simply being so close to the Mishima clan could cause some definite stress for anyone prone to paranoia or distrust, and although Xiaoyu was neither of those things she still out of place and nervous.

The more there is on a line, the thinner the line seems to be.


	3. Chapter 3: Chatting and Plotting

**Chapter Three**

The engine of Hwoarang's motorcycle rumbled and growled as he tore down the streets of Shinjuku. It was mid-afternoon, and fortunately for all the citizens there were very few people walking around at the time. Hwoarang had taken Xiaoyu for a motorcycle ride, at her request. Xiaoyu's eyes were torn from buildings, signs and advertisements, and she kept a surprisingly relaxed grip around Hwoarang's waist.

"Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" Hwoarang called back, steering around a sweet old woman walking ahead of them.

"Nope!" Xiaoyu called up to him, eyes glittering excitedly. "But I have been on roller coasters! It's just like an amusement park, it's so adventurous!"

"And dangerous," Hwoarang reminded her. What he was more or less trying to say was 'make sure you don't fall off the back and splat on the pavement.'

"Yeah, I guess. But it is exciting!" She tightened her grip just a little, but she was feeling too exhilarated by the wind through her pigtails and the bright signs flying by in a massive collage of beautiful colors. Even so, she didn't like danger. Danger simply spent a lot of time corrupting the innocence of adventure, and hunting her down like a dog.

It was very shortly after that that they arrived at the garage once more. When he got off, he did it with such ease it reminded her of a crane. His legs were so long that he could have one foot planted on each side of the motorcycle without touching it at all. Xiaoyu, however, had a little bit of a struggle that ensued when she got on and off. Hwoarang just watched with a quiet smirk, holding the motorcycle so it doesn't tip over.

"I think that's enough adventure for one day," he said. Once she was off, he led the cycle over to park it again. With a lack of anything better to do, she followed him. "Tell me, Xiaoyu, how old are you?"

"Eighteen," she said leisurely. She peered after him as he chained his motorcycle and activated the security unit he had on it. When Hwoarang looked surprised at her answer, she added, "I know I don't look, act, or dress like it. But I definitely am 18. This is my last year at Mishima High. How old are you?"

"I'm plenty older than you." Hwoarang rejoined Xiaoyu on the street, and then started walking back to the hotel, coyly waiting for her to follow. "Twenty-one. Only three years your senior."

"Oh. You act a lot older than that, even if you still ride bicycles." Xiaoyu trotted up behind him. When she walked, she bounced on her toes. It was something that added to her innocent, youthful look, and it was a habit that she had never noticed in her lifetime. "You're tall, too. You're as old as Jin, but I think you might be taller than he is."

There was a pause. Hwoarang looked at her with a deeply curious look, before saying "Was Jin who you were looking for?"

Xiaoyu nodded, her pigtails swinging back and forth. "He went to my high school, and he's a friend of mine. I was hoping he'd be here, but I guess he isn't." She resisted a strong urge to sigh in disappointment. Still, the feeling of hope that he would be here was very powerful, and it was hard for her to let it go so easily.

"A friend of yours, huh? If he was such a friend, then why didn't he tell you whether or not he was coming, or simply come and look for you?" Hwoarang asked.

Xiaoyu paused, searching for the right words for her answer. "Well," she said slowly. "He's always been really… quiet. You know? He's the kind of person that always has something on his mind, and he doesn't really look for people very often."

"And yet, you still consider him a friend. He's here, you know," Hwoarang said simply.

For a moment, Xiaoyu didn't believe him. She didn't see him anywhere. Of course, it occurred to her within a moment that Jin may not have hung around in the lobby, chatting leisurely with friends and family. "How do you know?" she asked. She wasn't about to revive the hope without reason for it.

"I checked the list of contenders," he answered. They reached the door of the hotel lobby, and he kicked it open, leaving his hands in his pockets. "He name was under some psycho named 'Violet's.' I had expected him to use an alias rather than his real name, but there it was: Jin Kazama."

There was a brief moment when everything in Xiaoyu's body wanted to cheer and give Hwoarang a big hug before tearing through the hotel like a maniac, beating down every single door until she saw Jin. She struggled and strained to suppress that desire, and fought for a more appropriate reaction to the boiling bubbles of excitement that were making her giggly and delirious. She finally found an appropriate reaction for the feeling: "Cool."  
"Somehow I knew you'd be happy to hear that," Hwoarang said. His voice carried an unreadable tone that went deeper than what he said, but Xiaoyu was too busy trying not to explode to notice. "You'll be in the lobby Friday morning, right?"

Friday Friday Friday, what was so important about Friday? After a few frantic moments of roller coasters and fireworks in Xiaoyu's head, she remembered that Friday was the day the first set of contenders would be paired and have the dates for their matches set. "Of course I'll be in the lobby! EVERYONE will be in the lobby. That would be like me missing my own birthday or something."

Hwoarang nodded, and tipped his head. "See you then, Xiao-"

"OH MY GOSH!" Xiaoyu shouted softly, before taking off at full speed through the lobby; leaving behind a very stunned and bewildered Hwoarang. With a quiet and confused smile, Hwoarang slid through the door to the staircase. What he didn't see was a petit Chinese man, wearing a small skull cap and a foul expression. This was Wang Jinrey, a distant relative of Xiaoyu's, and a man she hadn't seen for years. "HI Wang!" she said peppily once she was near. Wang sighed far in the back of his throat, and after an insultingly long pause he acknowledged her. "What are you doing here? Are you fighting too? You shouldn't be fighting, you're too old to fight, you'll probably die somehow!"

"I'm here with a pupil," Wang curtly said.

Xiaoyu tipped her head to the side as she often did. "Pupil? Do you mean ME? Wang, you're not like a mentor to me, you're more like my fourth cousin twice removed."

Wang sighed deep in the back of his throat again, and said "Not you…" Without any further explanation, he walked away from here, and pressed the elevator button to go upstairs.

Xiaoyu watched him up until the elevator doors opened, and a man with purple hair stepped out, before she turned around. _He's so mysterious…_ She thought to herself. Then, she said aloud "Come on Panda, let's go look around for Jin!"

Pause. "Panda?" _Oh, right. Panda had to be left behind when I went with Hwoarang._ With a sigh, Xiaoyu decided to check around for her panda.

"'Jin Kazama,' 'Kazuya Mishima,' it's almost too perfect, they both came." Heihachi laughed deep in the back of his throat, and strolled over to his computer. "Such fools, falling right into my trap. It was almost too easy, there's nothing they can do." With another laugh, Heihachi sat down on his larger-than-life office chair. No matter who won or lost, his plan would not be affected one bit.

Kazuya Mishima, pacing across the street in his hotel room, wasn't the least bit threatened. He had his own plans, and his revenge required only one person- and that was Jin. Kazuya had been training and conditioning himself for the imminent battles, and soon enough Heihachi would learn the full strength of the devil gene.


	4. Chapter 4: Chilled Xiaoyu and Pumped Con...

**Chapter 4**

Chaos in the form of human bodies shoved into one large room to mill about apprehensively; that would describe the lobby on Friday. It took Xiaoyu ten minutes to find the water fountain, twenty to wait in line, and thirty to find Panda again. Though there were only a handful of contestants, some of them had family, friends, and trainers who were staying to keep an eye on things. Then, of course there was a mob of spectators outside. What really crowded the place was the Tekken force. Eight times Xiaoyu bumped into one of the soldiers, dressed from head to foot in sleek dark clothes, each wearing a helmet and visor that hid their identity. She found them interesting, and perhaps a little unnerving.

After situating herself in a small bubble of emptiness, Xiaoyu took the time to look around. Near her was Steve Fox- the boxer she remembered from a few days ago. He didn't seem too enthused to see her either (a perfectly justified thing, since he seemed to think she was from the mafia). Xiaoyu quietly looked away.

Then, suddenly, Panda let out a loud roar and a tall blonde woman flew right by Xiaoyu. She had appeared out of nowhere, and flew to the floor at Xiaoyu's feet. Xiaoyu's heart had beat cold blood from the instant Panda roared, but once she saw the poor tripped woman, her heart went out to her and she leaned over. "Good night, are you alright?"

Some of the Tekken force members had been attracted by the row, and were making their way closer. As the woman staggered up, Xiaoyu recognized her- Nina Williams, a long time contender in these tournaments. Nina disdainfully flipped a loose bang out of her eyes and adjusted her pony tail, rubbing her backside furtively. She never answered Xiaoyu's question- and once she saw the Tekken force officers coming she slid away without a word.

Xiaoyu reentered reality after a moment of hiatus, and looked down at Panda. Panda growled deep in her throat, and settled onto her haunches. "Oh, you're just sore because that lady tripped over you. I'm sure those high heels hurt, but she didn't do it on purpose. She just looked distracted." Xiaoyu said.

"Rrrgh…" said Panda, resting her chin on her paws, her droopy black eyes sharp.

When Xiaoyu looked up, she noticed Steve staring in silent bewilderment. Xiaoyu waved enthusiastically at him, and he cocked an eyebrow and quickly looked forward. It was similar to the reaction one would expect from a child staring rudely at someone with something between their teeth. Xiaoyu laughed, and quietly remembered that not everyone was used to small Chinese girls who talked to pandas.

What Xiaoyu, and most of the rest of the contenders present, did not know was that Steve Fox was a boxer. The mafia had asked him to lose a match on purpose so that they could win their bets and further their illegal games. Steve Fox had some honor, however. He won the match, achieving glory and a belt at a young age. Unfortunately, the mafia was very much displeased, and now they were out to kill him.

The man standing just behind and between Steve and Xiaoyu knew all this very well. Lei Wulong knew all this very well. Lei was a police officer, who in his better years had been known as 'supercop.' He had been internationally respected by the police and feared by criminals- until his life took a nastier turn. Now, he found himself stalking an assassin after the young Steve Fox, with absolutely no idea who the assassin could be. He sighed, tired and dejected.

Xiaoyu detected the sound, and whirled around. "Yeah, I'm nervous to," she said encouragingly to Lei. Lei shook his head and left. After he was gone, Xiaoyu turned to Panda and said, "He seemed like a nice guy. Sad though."

Panda didn't seem to hear Xiaoyu. She was staring forward with an intense focus that was uncharacteristic of her. Xiaoyu blinked, and craned through the crowd. "What do you see, Panda? Jin? Heihachi?" She paused, as her eyes rested on the deep brown shape towards the front. "Kuma?"

Xiaoyu felt the Panda's fur brush her legs as Panda shoved people out of the way to curl up behind her. Kuma looked around apprehensively, but found Paul rather than Panda. He slinked over to that end of the room- and without surprise, the crowd parted easier for him than it had for Panda.

"Where is Jin, anyway?" Xiaoyu asked with a little disappointment. There were too many people to tell for sure, and even if she knew exactly where Steve was, she wasn't willing to go up to random people who might be Jin and check to see if they were.

"You seem like a nice girl." The voice that said this came from behind Xiaoyu, and was said in a plain tone. However, the sound had a lot more depth to it than that, as if the words had been said in a cave and were echoing to her ears rather than coming from a person.

A weird and unpleasant tingle found its way to Xiaoyu's neck, and she peered over her shoulder. Yoshimitsu had his arms cross, and was staring forward quietly. "You seem like a very nice girl. Do what's best for you, and stay away from that boy Jin. He comes from a long line of people who aren't as nice as you." Yoshimitsu tipped his forehead forward, before managing to slip into the crowd with a dramatic exit.

"He's so mysterious…." Xiaoyu said uneasily, eyes darting at Panda but her face still towards where Yoshimitsu had been. "And weird. I keep wondering if he's not something that isn't…. human." She paused. "Oh, that's an awful thing to say! How would I feel if people asked if I was human just because I looked different!"

Yoshimitsu looked very different, however. His very pallor was unlike anything elses, being more of a yellow-brown than a normal shade of skin. It looked hard as well, and his teeth didn't have any lips or gums attached to them. They were simply a part of his face. It was very unnerving to look at.

As she attempted to null the Novocain-like effect Yoshimitsu had on her spine, Xiaoyu heard a voice calling for attention. The room fell silent with surprising quickness, and it only took Xiaoyu a moment to realize why- Heihachi was on the TV screen before them.

When he was young, Heihachi had looked young and intimidating, like a force to be reckoned with. Now that he was 75, Heihachi looked old and intimidating, and somehow far more of a force to be reckoned with. He was still as muscular –if not more- than his son Kazuya, he still had a fiery temper (like his son, Kazuya), and his ingenuity for destroying people far surpassed that of any other mortal (heaven forbid it should be said that his son, Kazuya, comes in a very close second.)

Xiaoyu noticed none of this. She knew about the bad stuff she'd read of in her email, but she had no idea how deep the treachery and evil ran in the Mishima veins. As a matter of fact, she rather liked Heihachi. Amongst all his faults, he knew how to put together a good tournament and run a thriving business.

It could be said that this was one of Xiaoyu's faults.

At any rate, when the wizened face of Heihachi appeared on the TV screen, it commanded everyone's attention. From his rather odd hair- which consisted of long, sharp tufts that began just above his ears, and a large bald spot- to his drooping mustache, he still looked powerful.

In a husky, grandfatherly voice, Heihachi began his speech:

"Welcome, tournament participators, to the day preceding your destruction. Only one of you can win, and to do so, you have to beat me. I don't anticipate even meeting most of you, which I cannot be happier about.

The first battle which shall take place will be between Marshall Law and Steve Fox." The screen changed from Heihachi's face. On the left was Marshall Law, with his hairy chin and short hair, while on the right was Steve Fox, with his blond hair sticking up in the back.

Law nodded solemnly, as Paul scanned the audience for Steve Fox. When he found him, Paul muttered, "He's just some blond, buff idiot pretty-boy out for the glory, I'll bet my life on it."

"And you're not?" Law chided him. The impending barrage of friendly insults was cut short by Heihachi continuing his speech.

"Next, there will be a battle between Violet and Paul Phoenix." On the left was an effeminate man with purple hair and sunglasses, while on the right was Paul, his tall blond hair just as comical as Violet's. Before Paul could insult his opponent, Two more faces had appeared. "Jin Kazama and King."


	5. Chapter 5: Night Before

**Chapter Five**

"Miiiiiiihaaaaaaruuuuuu!"

"Konnichiwa, Xiao! I miss you so bad!"

"Miharu, you saw me off to Mishima Zaibatsu this morning- only two days ago!"

"Yeah, but two days is too long for best friends!"

Xiaoyu laughed and fell back onto the hotel bed. She hadn't been gone long at all, and it normally took her a few months to get homesick. However, there was something about the eagerness in her best friend's voice that made Xiaoyu wish Miharu were sitting at the foot of her hotel bed, giggling about passing boys and chatting about the latest gossip. Miharu was always one for stories, and in as wild a group as Xiaoyu was in at the moment, Miharu would've been able to put a very light air onto everything.

"So." Miharu's voice cracked with the telephone, but her businesslike excitement was apparent. "Have you seen _Jiiin_ yet?"

Xiaoyu sighed. "No. Not yet…."

"Oh, but you were so certain he would BE there!" Miharu blurted. "He has to be. If he isn't, we're calling the police, say he killed someone, and then visiting him in prison."

"Miharu!" Xiaoyu exclaimed.

"What? It's his own fault, being so hard to reach. Doesn't check his email, doesn't have a cell phone OR a pager I might add, and doesn't leave an address. What does he think this is, the Stone Age? People COMMUNICATE now." A low sigh was heard as Miharu finished her tirade with a singe word: "Men."

"I know he's here," Xiaoyu said matter-of-factly. "He has a match tomorrow evening, against this guy named King…"

"Oooh, is he cute?"

"You KNOW Jin, you KNOW he's cute-"

"No no! Not Jin, that…. That King guy! Is he cute?"

"Well, he goes around wearing a cheetah mask all the time, so I really can't tell. He likes kids, though. I heard he gives all of his winnings to orphanages and stuff."

"Aww, he sounds nice…" Miharu purred. This sort of behavior was characteristic of Miharu. If it was male, she had to find out of he was cute or nice irregardless of whether he was a world-renown wrestler or assassin. "Anyone who likes kids can't be all bad!"

"I just hope he doesn't kill Jin," Xiaoyu sulked. Her fear was misplaced, and she knew it. Jin was not an easy fight, and never had been. When they were younger, Jin and Xiaoyu had both lived in the Mishima house-hold. One would assume they had gotten very close in that time, but saying two people lived in the Mishima household was similar to saying two people lived in the Eastern Hemisphere- the odds were slim that they would ever run into each other. And when their paths did cross, Jin and Xiaoyu talked little but sparred often. He was an extremely powerful and talented fighter, and she let him win. She let him win very very frequently.

There was a brief pause. In that moment Panda seized her opportunity to join Xiaoyu on the bed, and settled on Xiaoyu's abdomen. Xiaoyu grunted slightly, before rubbing her panda behind the ears.

"Tomorrow I fight someone named Christie Monteiro," Xiaoyu said finally. "She's really really pretty, with an island tan and cool hair. So, if good looks go with fighting ability, you'd better wish me all the luck in the world, you!"  
"I'm always rooting for you!" Miharu said nonchalantly. "But if it helps at all, I don't think any sissy chick-wuss will ever be able to beat up you, Xiao. And if they did, I would so fly in and beat the willies right out of 'em within' a day, and I tell you, those willies don't go back in!"

"…. I really didn't understand that," Xiaoyu apologized. "I speak Japanese, Chinese, and English, not Miharese."

"I'm in your corner, Xiao. You can count on that."

"Thanks," Xiaoyu said with a smile. "I'll call you after the fight, tell you how it went."

"You'd better!"

After Xiaoyu had hung up, she found herself lacking in anything to do. She had spent much of the afternoon training, just to be sure, but now she had exhausted her body and mind and there was nothing else to eliminate her restlessness.

"I guess I'll just wait for tomorrow, Panda…" she said softly.

Panda growled deep in the back of her throat, sounding a little curt and hurt.

"Oh, Miharu isn't exactly my best friend in the world. She's only my best human friend. Don't you worry about, it Panda. She might be in my corner, but you're right there beside me."

Panda nodded, seeming appeased.

Anticipation settled on Xiaoyu. Until tomorrow, she had nothing. But tomorrow, she was absolutely certain she was going to finally see Jin. Finally see Jin… Xiaoyu settled into daydreams as she watched the minutes on the clock tick by.

* * *

While Xiaoyu was pining away peacefully up in her hotel room, the rest of the world kept turning as it always did- and most of the Tekken fighters were enjoying an evening in the hotel bar.

"Hey Nina, looking good," Hwoarang said coolly, sliding into the chair across from a lovely blonde woman. One might recognize her as the young woman who had tripped over Panda in the lobby earlier, or because she was a Tournament veteran who had managed to attend every single Tekken tournament.

Nina brushed a loose bang from her face, tapping her long, red nails against her wine glass. She barely grunted to acknowledge Hwoarang, for her gaze was somewhere completely different. At a table across the room was the young blond man from the lobby: Steve Fox. When his gaze came to her direction she finally made eye contact with Hwoarang. "How are things for your fraud team?"

Hwoarang smiled and said "even though people SAY crime doesn't pay, it definitely bought me a ticket to Shinjuku." He paused, before adding "I haven't had much business recently. I got drafted into the Korean military."

"Ouch," Nina groaned. "Tough luck. Makes me glad I'm a woman. But I suppose you're almost doing the same thing in the army, hmm? Except a lot more killing and a lot less money. 'Course, you never struck me as the type to pull a trigger."

"My commanders seem to disagree," Hwoarang remarked defensively. "They say I'm an exemplary fighter, just a pain to work with. But I make myself a pain…" He flipped his hair out from his face, the red color illuminated by the lights. "I didn't like it, so I went AWOL."

"These things catch up to one," Nina purred slightly. Noting that Steve had averted his gaze, Nina took up her watch once more. "Wouldn't surprise me one bit if a military bust were to come right into this tournament… Just for you."

Hwoarang dismissed the possibility as unlikely, and glanced over his shoulder to check out what Nina was looking at. Immediately recognizing Steve from his outburst with Xiaoyu, Hwoarang turned back and said "either you're head over heels in love or you've got a target."

"I must say I'm busy doing the normal… stake-out." She trailed a nail down the side of her glass, and looked to Hwoarang. "But don't worry, you make a great alibi. Drink?"

"No thinks, I don't drink," he replied.

"Oh, suddenly Mr. Fraud Team walks the straight and narrow."

"It fogs the focus, destroys coordination. I like to be alert." Hwoarang paused, glancing around indiscreetly for a moment. "He's on to you," he said. "Don't know if he knows you're the assassin or not, but the man's definitely paranoid. Something has him alert. Do the cops know you're here?"

"Not that I know of," Nina said. After a long moment, she admitted "It is possible, though. That woman who claims to be my sister knows…. Somehow."

In the past, Nina had been put in suspended animation. She was awakened a number of years ago, but she had acquired amnesia from the process. Though she could remember newer acquaintances- like Hwoarang, who participated in a tournament or two with her- she couldn't remember anyone else. Her twin sister Anna found this hard to cope with.

"Well, I'll leave you alone. The last thing I need to happen is getting interrogated by police. That just doesn't go with my… laying low," Hwoarang said as he stood and dismissed himself. Nina simply laughed, breaking her gaze casually. She barely even acknowledged Hwoarang's parting.

Now, Hwoarang wasn't entirely ready to go to bed just yet. The night was young, the days were long. He paused, taking a casual turn to check out his options.

Outside the window he could see Julia, another contender, sitting by a flowerbed, reading a thick book in the lamplight. She was wearing her glasses and lab coat, and seemed completely oblivious to the rest of the city. _… Nah, she'd just get pissed off if I bugged her, _Hwoarang thought. Anna Williams was giving him a dirty look for talking to her sister, so that option was closed. Steve Fox was a target, and Hwoarang definitely didn't want to get between Nina and her target. That left the new girl.

Hwoarang had never seen her before; she wasn't in any of the other tournaments. But he knew he recognized her picture from somewhere. The new girl was tanned deeply, and had blonde streaks in her dark hair. She was wearing short tattered jean shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. _Hey, why not?_ He thought. Hwoarang slid up onto the bar stool next to the girl and said "Hey, I don't think I've seen you before!" he said, putting on his best 'cool boy Korean' act.

"Oh, hi!" the girl responded tentatively. "I'm Christie Monteiro."

Once Hwoarang had the name, he remembered where he'd seen her picture. In the lobby earlier that day, he had observed a girl named Christie Monteiro would be fighting Xiaoyu. "Very interesting," he responded, with a slightly secretive smile. _This could get very interesting indeed._ "I'm Hwoarang. Care for a drink?"


	6. Chapter 6: And the Plot Thickens

**Chapter Six**

The next morning, Xiaoyu was pumped. She woke with a start, instantly sitting up straight and swinging her legs over the bed. "This is it," she said resolutely to Panda. Panda rolled over onto her back, stretching far enough to fill her half of the room. Xiaoyu nimbly hopped over her, and dove for the piece of paper on her desk. "According to this schedule," she stated plainly, "My fight against Christie is to be at 6:00 P.M." She looked over at the clock: 8:30 A.M. "OH MY GOSH, I'LL NEVER MAKE IT IN TIME!"  
Panda was yawning a large panda yawn when a sock landed on her nose. Upon hearing of the mere nine and a half hours she had to get ready, Xiaoyu had dove headfirst into her drawer. She was presently digging through her clothes like a mad-woman, tossing whatever impeded her progress out of the way. After stumbling to her feet, Panda shook the sock off of her nose just in time to make room for a pair of pants.

"Should I wear the dress? No, too pretentious. The school uniform? Pleeeease, that is so last month. Maybe I should go for the outfit with the big bow? But what about my BALANCE, it might throw me off!" Outfit upon outfit was added to the rejection pile on Panda's head.

Lazily, Panda slid the clothes off of her body and dodged a flying skirt. With infinite care, she pawed through the pile of clothes. When she found the outfit she was looking for, she picked it up in her mouth ever so carefully and carried it to Xiaoyu.

"OH MY GOSH THAT'S EVERYTHING!" Xiaoyu slammed the drawer, and turned around to the pile of clothes. "I must've of missed it!" Just as she was about to dive into the pile of laundry, Panda rubbed her forehead against Xiaoyu's pajama leg. Xiaoyu looked down, and sighed deeply. "Oh, thank you Panda!"

After donning her white pants, red shirt and white jacket, Xiaoyu looked in the mirror. "Perfect… I look like a winner, don't I?" She looked down to Panda, but Panda only cocked her head lightly to one side. Xiaoyu paused, and investigated her reflection once more. "Oh, of course!" Xiaoyu had forgotten her trademark pigtails! "What would I do without you, Panda?" She giggled lightly, and took out her hairbrush. Within moments her pigtails were up and swinging perkily with Xiaoyu. "NOW it's perfect! Oh, thank you Panda, where would I be without you?"

Panda nodded wisely, and nudged the clothes on the floor with her nose.

"I'll clean up when I get back, 'cause according to THIS-" Xiaoyu smacked the schedule gently. "- I only have four hours until Jin's fight! How could I ever possibly finish in time?"

After giving Xiaoyu a scolding look, Panda managed to convince her to clean up a bit before she left.

* * *

Xiaoyu wasn't the only one who was curious about Jin's upcoming match. In fact, she was merely one in a small crowd, each with their own motivations and curiosities. 

Heihachi for example. Hours before Xiaoyu was destroying her room, he was pacing his room, watching security tapes closely. Jin had been seen checking in to the Mishima Tower, the hotel connected to the Zaibatsu and the tournament. Heihachi knew Jin was in room 384, single bed, and third floor with a view of the street. Kazuya had checked into the same hotel, and was in room 231, a floor down and on the opposite face. He had men watching the security cameras outside like dogs, and even had some casually dressed guards taking shifts in the lobby, just in case. He wasn't going to let the father and son pair slip through his fingers.

Kazuya was another who was very much anticipating the match. He could only suspect his father, Heihachi, would be planning. This didn't scare him- Heihachi had won once, but that was then and this was now. The Mishima Zaibatsu had nothing on him, especially if he succeeded in his plan with Jin.

Amongst the sea of names of those who were watching Jin, and amongst the various plots and plans swirling amongst them, there was only one other name that would merit Xiaoyu's attention:

Hwoarang.

* * *

In the basement of the hotel was a large gym which had been established to facilitate the Tekken fighter's training over their stay and participation in the tournament. It was a pristine gym, with lockers lined up like shelves in a library, benches placed in the center. There were punching bags and speed bags in the center of the room, as well as equipment for conditioning.

Hwoarang slipped down the stairs, dressed in his fighting clothes. His loose karate clothes were a big change from the jeans and tight shirts he normally wore. After looking around, he concluded that his trainer, Baek Doo-san, had not yet arrived. The moment he set his bag down on a bench, however, someone else entered the room.

It wasn't Master Baek. It was Jin.

Jin slid down the stairs, completely oblivious to Hwoarang's presence. Casting off his cloak, he tossed his bag onto a bench and dug into it for his sparring equipment. He wasn't particularly tall- though one could quip his hair added a few inches- but he was a broad man who obviously donated a majority of his time to conditioning and training. His muscles were powerful and his focus stoic- so stoic he didn't even notice Hwoarang was in the same room as him, let alone the same building.

"Hey," Hwoarang called. Jin looked up suddenly. Hwoarang approached him brusquely, straightening his back to enforce that he was taller. "You remember me?" His words were terse, and not the least bit friendly.

Jin paused, and answered coolly, "Yes, I remember you. Streets of Tokyo. We fought, had to call it a draw when the police started noticing. Weren't you out for some… petty revenge in the last tournament?" His English accent was tainted with Japanese, where Hwoarang spoke exactly like an American.

"_Petty_," Hwoarang practically spit. "One dark mark on my perfect career, if it weren't for you I would have been able to say I was undefeated."

"You didn't win the last tournament," Jin snidely recalled. "Undefeated means nothing if you never pick fights with worthy opponents."

"Cut the pep talks, if I had a chance I would have crushed you last tournament. Before THIS tournament is over, I WILL prove I'm the better fighter. Mark my words," Hwoarang hissed.

"There are much more important things here than you," Jin snapped. "Should we need to fight, I'll fight. Until then, you and your little revenge are worthless to me."

"Okay, THAT'S it-!" Hwoarang threw a quick punch at Jin. Jin, on instinct grabbed his fist, holding his other hand at ready. Everything about his body language said "Just try that again." Hwoarang tensed, ready to take him up on that offer.

"Hwoarang." Baek had arrived, and was standing in the stairwell. His long, silvering pony-tail was tied back and his thin eyes were watching the two closely. Hwoarang mentally groaned, and dropped. Jin kept his eyes on Hwoarang, even after he'd left and gone to Baek, his sharp eyebrow raised.

Baek came down the stairs and Hwoarang and he settled into a somewhat private locker bay. "Thanks a lot," Hwoarang muttered. "If it weren't for you, I'd be getting my revenge."

"Are you forgetting the tournament?" Beak chided Hwoarang in Korean. "So much money at stake, that's not like you at all."

"It's about my PRIDE, man, PRIDE!" The sound of Jin as he practiced karate was audible to him. "I can't take this-! He thinks he's such a big-shot fighter, I'll show him. I'll win in this tournament, and I'll beat him in the process."

"And just how do you intend to win the tournament if you go around picking excess fights the day of your match?" Baek smiled slightly. He knew Hwoarang's ability, and he normally had about 5 fights a day back when he was cheating people on the streets. Now, however, was the big leagues, and most of the people here were very serious about their training.

Hwoarang just shrugged carelessly. "Not too concerned. I just have to find his weakness," he trained off in pensiveness. Beak guided Hwoarang in some warm-up stretches while he waited. When it came down to it, Hwoarang confided everything in Baek. Baek had generally supported his criminal activity, being rather indifferent to the law himself and having seen the immense amount of experience it gave his pupil. Finally, Hwoarang said, "I found this girl; she's a friend of Jin's. I'll bet my bottom dollar she knows something that I don't, and I'd bet even more she could find something out really easy. She's very OPEN too…"

"What makes you so sure Jin would actually confide in her," Baek said patiently. "He doesn't seem 'The Lady's Man' type. He has too much focus-" He boxed Hwoarang on the forehead lightly "-which you lack."

Ignoring the focus remark, Hwoarang said "Yeah, but she's a really likeable person. She could probably befriend anyone if she put her mind to it. It's really only a matter of time before Jin notices her again; especially since she's practically stalking him."  
_Uh oh_, a little red flag waved in Baek's mind. Very likeable people could prove very dangerous to Hwoarang's standoffish demeanor. It could only be a matter of time before Hwoarang's 'used friend' would be more than such. Evenly, Baek said "Just be careful. Women are…. Complicated. And with this situation, just promise me one thing."

"Depends," Hwoarang said with a smile. "What?"

"Don't make this girl cry."

"… Oh, um, alright. I mean, it's not like I'm pretending to be in love with her or anything, Master Baek."

"Yeah, I know, but it's an awful feeling when girls cry. Something like kicking a puppy, because they didn't deserve it and they stare up at you with those big, wet eyes looking betrayed. That and you can NEVER get them to trust you again. So just try not to put Miss. Likeable in the middle of your revenge, okay?"

Hwoarang raised an eyebrow. He didn't normally make promises of this kind of nature- he considered himself pretty heartless in some ways. When he took the time to think about it, however, he realized he didn't much like the idea of making Xiaoyu cry in the first place. Eventually, he bit the bullet and said "okay, I promise that I'll try."

"Good." Baek stood promptly. "Let's get you ready."


	7. Chapter 7: One of Many

**Chapter 7:**

A loud smash was heard as King's massive body struck the ground. From somewhere in the streets of Shinjuku, a bell rang and an announcer cried out: "Round 1, JIN KAZAMA!" A cheer rang out from a rowdy crowd, whose blood was beginning to boil just from watching the talented yet powerful fighters in the battle. Round 1 was over, but Round 2 was yet to come.

Hwoarang stood by a rope which had been set up to discourage the crowd from getting too close. His eyes studied King's opponent closely. Jin was taking a long drink, readying himself as King crawled back to his feet, examining the damage and mentally preparing himself for round 2. Unless any major injuries were accumulated, the loser was given 15 minutes to rest before the beginning of the next round.

What kept Hwoarang's attention so sharp was Jin's new style of karate. In the past, Jin had fought very much like Kazuya and Heihachi. This year, however, his style was very different. Hwoarang was soaking up every move he could, trying to find patterns and ways to read what Jin planned to do.

The only question surrounding Jin that didn't occur to Hwoarang was quite simple: _Where was Xiaoyu?_

The next round was announced, and the crowd pushed closer to the rope. _King tensed his sweaty and shiny from his side of the ring, _roaring dramatically from the back of his throat. His cheetah mask had remained in place and intact throughout his first _losing match_. Jin turned around slowly, his eyes resting on his opponent with a focus so intense one would think he was trying to shoot lasers from his eyes.

The bell rang, and Jin heisted. King seized the moment to lean over, grab Jin's legs, secure them around his shoulders and slam Jin back-first into the ground. While Jin was dazed, King took his leg again- but Jin retaliated quickly, kicking King away and rolling swiftly to his feet.

Hwoarang laughed silently at Jin's lack of preparation. Jin caught the sound, but he didn't let it distract him; he'd already made one mistake, and he wasn't planning to do so again. With swift precision Jin pounded King with punches to the abdomen, finishing is combination attack with a powerful kick to the chest. King reeled, but kept his footing. When Jin attempted to kick King again, King countered by grabbing Jin's leg and throwing him to the ground.

As Jin staggered to his feet, Hwoarang's ears perked up. He thought he heard something out of the ordinary. He broke his gaze long enough to glance over his shoulder. The crowd was large- anyone could have said something to get his attention. Someone was heard hitting the ground, bringing back Hwoarang's focus. He whirled around to see King flat on the pavement, Jin standing over him.

"Round 2, JIN KAZAMA!" the announcer crowed. Hwoarang cursed beneath his breath: he'd missed the most important part of the match.

The ropes were taken down, and Jin put on his cloak as he exited his place. People flooded around him, though some security guards slipped into their post around him.

It was about that moment Xiaoyu arrived. She had run top speed the whole way there, having gotten lost three times trying to find the location of the match. The crowd was thick, and though Xiaoyu was a skilled fighter _she didn't have an intimidating girth._ People ignored her completely. Panda trotted up beside her, standing up on both legs to look over the crowd.

"Can you see him?" Xiaoyu asked frantically.

Panda growled in the back of her throat: she saw him.

"I can't believe I'm late, oh my goodness, I'm so stupid! JIN! JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

But no matter how loud Xiaoyu screamed his name, she couldn't overpower the cheering of the crowd. Her voice sounded like nothing more than a devoted fan in the chaos. The crowd began to shift. Jin was leaving. Xiaoyu knew her chances of reaching him now were nil. She dropped to her knees, and buried her face in her hands. "So close, Panda, so close…" Panda nuzzled her nose against Xiaoyu's cheek, sitting stoic next to her.

As the crowd dissipated, the only people left were those uninterested in stalking a celebrity. Xiaoyu kept her face buried, her disappointment was overwhelming. She only uncovered her eyes when she felt someone standing over her.

Hwoarang knelt down in front of her quietly. He could only catch her eye briefly before she looked down and sniffed. Quietly, he said "He won, Xiao… You'll have more chances."

She looked up at him quickly, this thought registering. "You're right," she said stoutly. "I just have to make sure I don't lose tonight."

There was a long moment of silence, before Hwoarang asked, "Was Jin the only reason you joined this tournament, Xiao?"

"…No." She met his eyes with more confidence, though her pigtails seemed to dangle without the life they normally had. "I came for a lot of reasons, Jin was… one of them."

Once Xiaoyu didn't explain, Hwoarang understood that she didn't want to. Standing up, he said. "Come back to the hotel, Xiao. I can give you a ride on my motorcycle if you want me to. Unless," he paused. "You'd rather take the panda."

Panda moved protectively – and somewhat defensively- in front of Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu touched her fur gently, and looked at Hwoarang. He held out his hand imploringly. With a glance at Panda, she took his hand and stood as well. "I think I'll walk… But thank you."

"No problem. I'll see you at the hotel?"

"Absolutely."

With that, Hwoarang went to his motorcycle. Xiaoyu watched as he mounted, revved up the engine, and took off down the road. He waved precariously at her as he road by. With a wave back, Xiaoyu looked at Panda. "Why do I have the feeling something very important happened right there?" she asked.


	8. Chapter 8: No More Misses Nice Girl

**Chapter 8**

When Xiaoyu arrived at her designated fighting arena, she had only one thing on mind- curling up under a palm tree with Panda and reading some Japanese magazines. Her fight was scheduled in a large courtyard, with tall palm trees towering around the roped off 'arena.' The sun was still high enough to be warm and the clouds were light and fluffy.

She would have to come here some time when she didn't have to kick someone else's butt.

There were people milling around outside. Quite a number of guys- including other contestants- had shown up. _How nice_, Xiaoyu thought. _A little encouragement is always cool._

Her opponent had not yet arrived, so Xiaoyu saw no reason to enter the arena. After informing the fight manager that she had arrived, she took advantage of the remaining sunlight and did just as she wanted to- curled up under a palm tree with Panda, reading a Japanese magazine. A fighter who was fifteen minutes late would automatically be disqualified.

At 6:02, Hwoarang approached Xiaoyu. He dropped his biking goggles in the ground next to the palm tree, and crouched in front of her. "Think you can handle it?" he asked lightly.

"I'm not sure, this magazine has a lot of really nice clothes, but they're all so expensive! I don't think I could afford it even after I win the Zaibatsu!" she said sincerely, not looking up from the magazine.

"No, I meant, the battle, Xiao. You know, the one that was supposed to start 2 minutes ago?"

"Oh yeah, duh. I'm good. Thanks for being concerned, though." She put her magazine down and smiled brightly at him. "So, you showed up at my fight?"

_Couldn't miss an opportunity to run into Jin,_ he thought mildly. Aloud, however, he said "Naw. I'm curious to see how good you actually are. I mean, you're nice, but do you have what it takes to beat the living daylights out of someone?"

"Aw, thank you for saying I'm nice. It's so strange to have you, like, concerned."

Truth be told, if Xiaoyu left now Hwoarang would have a much harder time getting through to Jin. She was his link, and he knew it. Even if he had hit on Christie last night, he was much more concerned with his rival. Unfortunately for Hwoarang, Xiaoyu was the kind of person whose happiness was completely contagious. If one spent any extended amount of time with someone of her endless optimism, it would be inevitable that they to would start to feel happy and optimistic. In other words, Hwoarang was doomed.

That was when Christie showed up.

It was quite a spectacle, actually. Christie obviously knew how to make an entrance. She was wearing a mostly unbuttoned, flowery green Hawaiian shirt and shorts. When she arrived, she announced sweetly "Sorry I'm late." She flipped her hair briskly and strode to the arena. The slight crowd that had assembled parted like the red sea for her. Xiaoyu quickly got up, dropping her magazine next to Panda and scurrying over to the ring. Christie was circling the ring waving by the time Xiaoyu slid through the crowd and ducked under the rope.

"CHRISTIE MONTEIRO AND LING XIAOYU, ROUND ONE! FIGHT" the announcer cried. People cheered and catcalled.

Xiaoyu instantly felt a little overwhelmed, but her opponent seemed perfectly at ease. As a matter of fact, she kicked off the match by dancing. Nimbly, she sprang forward onto her hands and spun her legs quickly- had Xiaoyu not moved, she would've been hit by this clumsy girl.

Christie then rolled onto her backside, and kicked at Xiaoyu's shin. The blow connected, and though it stung it didn't really hurt. However, that was when Xiaoyu realized that Christie wasn't dancing: she was fighting.

This revelation took long enough for Xiaoyu that Christie had rolled back and was on her feet, moving nonchalantly to an invisible beat. Xiaoyu took the moment to try and strike Christie in the side. However, she caught Christie in a back-step and barely even grazed her. Christie retaliated by a swift, high kick which got Xiaoyu on the side of the face.

Xiaoyu felt her body fly back, and her side hit the concrete which had once been so inviting. "Oh, she did not just do that!" Xiaoyu stammered to the ground in surprise, her cheek aching from the blow.

_Oh yes she did_, the ground seemed to answer. Xiaoyu could faintly feel the beat of people stamping along with Christie's rhythm. It was obvious who was the fan favorite. Even now, she bounced back and forth from foot to foot nonchalantly, as if this were just a game of Dance Dance Revolution. Xiaoyu could feel the rhythm- and it gave her an idea.

The announcer was coming closer to see if Xiaoyu was down for the count. No such luck on Christie's part. Fire blazing in her eyes, Xiaoyu shifted from the ground into a crouch. When she had been trained by Wang, he taught her how to do quicker moves by using a beat of 8 counts. It would help her focus, he said, and keep her body united and able to follow through more powerfully. _5, 6, 7, 8- 1!_ Xiaoyu lunged forward and upward to strike Christie squarely on the bottom of her jaw. Christie lost her rhythm for a moment when she stumbled back, but was immediately hopping back and forth from foot to foot as before.

As Christie made to make a move, however, Xiaoyu cart wheeled right over Christie's leg, landing so they were somewhat back to back. With her back still to Christie Xiaoyu kicked her in the back, sending Christie into the air. With swift agility Xiaoyu landed three harsh blows before her opponent managed to hit the ground. Christie was floored from shock and pain, and when she rolled over Xiaoyu could see a trickle of blood coming down from her nose.

"Round 1, LING XIAOYU!" the announcer called. The crowd roared confusedly, as those who were rooting for Christie booed and those who were happy someone had won cheered. Christie gave Xiaoyu her most hateful glare. Xiaoyu simply saluted her perkily, and went to her corner.

Hwoarang hopped up to the rope, and held up a hand. "High five, Xiao, you won that time!"

Xiaoyu stared at his hand, completely baffled at what he was trying to do. "Oh, uh, thanks. It was nothing, really." The way she said it made it sound as if she had done some favor for Hwoarang. He just shook his head and put his hand back down.

"She's got a pretty strange fighting style, I admire you. You just got in there and interrupted her beat just like that."

Xiaoyu was about to respond with her normal perk when she noticed someone looming at the far corner of the crowd. After taking a moment to analyze the person's dark hair, Xiaoyu realized: _It's Jin._ He disappeared within a moment, however, and Xiaoyu glanced back at Hwoarang. He was watching her expectantly. "Oh…. Thanks!" she said shakily.

Raising an eyebrow, Hwoarang said "Don't sweat it. Just get in there and win, 'kay? You're a pretty decent person and I think the rest of us would appreciate having you stick around." He batted her shoulder and slipped back into the crowd.

Xiaoyu jumped a little, and turned around. Christie was taking her fifteen minutes to stretch, after having nursed her bleeding nose. It appeared not to be broken, since the flow had already stopped. Xiaoyu took the time to examine the crowd, searching for the face. Had he even been there? Was it Kazuya again?

Back at school, Jin hadn't been so aloof. He hadn't been outgoing or friendly, but he wasn't always at the edge, at the corners. And most of all, he always talked to Xiaoyu. Or, rather, he let her talk to him frequently. She would always remember his last day at Mishima High. It was the last day of school that year, and the Third Tekken Tournament was scheduled for a week later. She had come out of the school and run up to him, chatting pointlessly about her day and all that she'd done. He seemed a little stunned, and didn't respond before she had waved goodbye and turned away. A moment later, however, he'd called out to her-

"LING XIAOYU AND CHRISTIE MONTEIRO, ROUND 2! FIGHT!"

Xiaoyu fortunately returned to the world of the living when the announcer called her name. Christie was being more tentative this time, keeping her distance. It seemed her previous cockiness was just a result of this being her first time fighting. Xiaoyu adopted her fighting pose and made the first move, a karate chop called "The great wall." Christie blocked it, however, and attempted to kick Xiaoyu like she had the first time. Xiaoyu was fortunately prepared this time, and ducked quickly. Her mind was still doing counts of eight, and when her moment came she swung her arms forward and landed three more blows on Christie. Christie stayed on her feet this time, though she looked upset. Nimbly, she dropped to her hands and swung her legs towards Xiaoyu.

To someone watching, the ensuing moves would look like nothing more than a carefully choreographed dance, reminiscent of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon." While both Xiaoyu and Christie ducked, rolled, and lunged, neither of them managed to land anything. By some miracle, neither of them even managed to touch the other.

Finally, Xiaoyu pulled out one of her favorite movies- "Sunset fan." She dropped to her lowest crouching position, and swung both arms up, managing to hit Christie five consecutive times. Christie fell back, defeated.

"ROUND 2, LING XIAOYU!"

She had won. And this time, when her victory was announced, everyone cheered. The announcer held up her hand, and she could see her bodyguards (accompanied by Panda, of course) waiting to escort her back to the hotel. There was also an ambulance parked somewhere nearby, prepared to take Christie away for examination. Despite her aching cheek, Xiaoyu felt great.

And confessedly, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Jin half-smile in the crowd and give her a brisk wave. At least, she thought he saw him, for within another moment he had disappeared.

"How does he do that?" she said to Panda, waving distractedly to the crowd.

Panda growled deep in the back of her throat. To the other guards, it sounded like a warning, but Xiaoyu knew exactly what Panda meant: _He's human. He can't hide forever._


	9. Chapter 9: Paranoia

Chapter Nine:

"I don't believe this." Paul raved "It's not possible, there was some mistake, I was SUPPOSED to win, but that judge guy thing totally didn't know what he was doing!"

Marshall was seated next to Paul on the front step of Mishima Zaibatsu. His face was downcast, and his mustache drooped more than usual. Both of them had lost their first match in the tournament, and it was a humbling feeling. "He was only 20," said Marshall mournfully. "He's just a baby, and I lost!"

"'Cause you're getting old," Paul muttered.

Marshall didn't want to add that Paul was approximately the same age as he, so rather than create conflict he sighed gutturally. "Now what? My dreams of a restaurant are shattered…"  
"No one's going to believe that I'm the best fighter in the world if they find out I was beaten once by a guy with purple hair…. Even if I was just having a bad day," Paul remarked.

"Well, I guess we still have our dojos."

"Yes, and there's always next year," Paul remarked. He got up, and looked at Marshall. It was one of those moments which only true friends could ever understand. Though each of them fought constantly, they were each others best competition and closest friend. So engrossed were they in their shared self-pity that they didn't notice the young Chinese girl sitting just a little bit down the curb. Both of them rose, and entered the hotel to pack their things and go back to planning.

Xiaoyu was sitting on the curb outside of the hotel, her pigtails drooping as she traced a small circle in the ground. That was how Panda found her; looking inexplicably dejected and lost. Gently, the pads of Panda's paws prodded down the concrete until she was next to Xiaoyu, and she nudged her arm with her nose. Xiaoyu looked up, and smiled faintly.

"You know, Panda? I was just thinking."

Panda meditatively settled next to Xiaoyu, resting her chin on Xiaoyu's thigh.

"Whenever I win a tournament," Xiaoyu continued thoughtfully. "I'm taking away someone else's dream. I was just talking to Christie. She was so sad, she kept whispering something about someone named Eddy. I don't know what that's all about, if he's like, a lover guy or something, but she was whispering how she wanted to see him again. It's like, every time I win I'm stealing someone else's dream from them."

Panda grunted gently, saying "It's not your fault they suck."

Xiaoyu chuckled, but only a little. It was obvious this was something that was bothering her. "I guess it's a lot easier to beat up evil people bent on revenge. But they're not all evil people wanting to destroy someone else. Some of them have really great incentives. Like, King for example. He wanted to win to help children. Now that he's lost, what will all those kids who were hoping on him do? And Paul and Law just now. Both of them only want to prove themselves, and have a better life by doing something they love. What right do I have to take those things from them?"

Panda sat up, pointing her head up to the clouds as she often did while she was doing some of her deeper thinking. After a pause, she communicated to Xiaoyu through gestures and sounds one message: "Maybe if you win, you can help them. If they couldn't beat you, they couldn't beat Heihachi."

"Oh, that's a GREAT idea, Panda! And could you just see? All those little children's faces light up at the creation of my very own-" she stopped her dream abruptly, and looked down the round. Amongst the random, foreign faces she recognized one. A face she wasn't particularly happy to see. Yoshimitsu was making his way down the street of Shinjuku, and he seemed to be heading directly towards her.

The uncomfortable shiver returned to Xiaoyu as the haggard features of Yoshimitsu slowly became more and more clear. It felt as if her skin had detached itself from her body and gone to a new hiding place, leaving her open and vulnerable. Finally, he came up in front of her. He towered over her, standing while she sat, tall while she was tiny. Finally, he lowered his eyes to her and said in his creepy voice, "Congratulations."

Xiaoyu hopped to her feet quickly, drawing herself to her maximum height; which still fell short to Yoshimitsu. "Thank you," she stammered, rolling on the balls of her feet as she often does when she gets nervous.

"This is just the beginning," he continued stiffly. "The competition will only get fiercer from here on out." He nodded brusquely, and walked to the hotel. His walk was so focused and determined that someone exiting the hotel doors had to side-step to avoid bumping into him. That someone was Jin.

Xiaoyu's skin had not yet returned to her, and though seeing Jin returned some of her warmth she also felt immeasurably nervous. He saw her as he dropped down the steps, wearing sneakers and training pants. To acknowledge her, he saluted, and continued down the road. After he had passed, Xiaoyu's backbone came back to her and she called out to him, "Hey, great match!"

Jin stopped, turned, and smiled a ghostly, empty smile. "Thanks. You too." With that, he started walking again.

There was a brief moment when Panda was almost certain Xiaoyu would just tip over and fall to the ground without provocation. Panda even shifted a little, to make sure she would be able to catch Xiaoyu should such a thing happen.

"He said "Thanks, you too,"" Xiaoyu echoed quietly. She regained her stability and balance and squealed inwardly with excitement.

Panda, seeing that Xiaoyu was feeling better, scurried around behind her legs and gave her a gentle nudge with the tip of her nose. Xiaoyu stumbled forward a few steps, casting a look back at Panda before understanding what Panda was urging her to do. With sprightly steps she trotted to catch up to Jin.

"So…" she said quickly, as she drew even with him and looked to his eyes. "Where have you been?"

There was a moment of silence, before the traces of another smile pulled at the left side of his lips. His smiles seemed less like a smile and more like a smirk. "Australia."

That caught Xiaoyu off of her guard. Her gait lost its pep for a brief moment before she squeaked an echo, "Australia?"

"Of course," he said simply. He looked towards her, his dark brown, almost black eyes catching hers. She found herself blush, and she smiled, feeling remarkably foolish.

"Of course, " she giggled quietly. "Australia, that's so different! No one would look in Australia! I guess my life's been pretty boring." Xiaoyu felt Panda's fur brush against the side of her pant leg, and her confidence returned quickly and she went forward. "Panda and I have been training really hard this year! We have every intention of winning this tournament, you know? Ever since I got your email, I've been… I've been…" Xiaoyu stopped talking quickly, however, when she noticed Jin's eyebrows pull together, his face clouded with confusion. "It was… your email, right?"  
"I don't keep an email," he said. "I'm not manager of Mishima Zaibatsu yet."

A vague dark thought crossed her mind: It would be much easier for them to track him if he had an email. She paused for a moment, digesting this new information quietly. Jin spoke after a long pause.

"Whatever. We all have our reasons for being here. The good thing about solitude is you don't have to worry about your back being stabbed…."

Xiaoyu looked at him. She still felt a little silly for assuming the letter was from Jin, and she was beginning to wonder if it had been safe for her to come here. Though she never thought of herself as a major player in the games of the others, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe someone had wanted her here. Was she being used, just another pawn in some great plan to get back at someone? Or was someone after her?  
"Take care," Jin said coolly, saluting Xiaoyu with two fingers before slipping into a nearby restaurant in Shinjuku. All Xiaoyu could do was stammer, and she looked down quietly at Panda.

"Panda?" she whispered quietly. Panda looked up and grunted to show she was listening. "I'm so glad you're here to keep me safe." Panda rubbed her forehead against Xiaoyu's leg, and jerked her head as if to say _Let's just go back._

The eyes of strangers had never felt so sharp as they did that day.


	10. Chapter 10: Cat Fight Gone Wrong

**Chapter Ten: Cat Fight Gone Wrong**

"You will NOT believe this," Hwoarang said with a light-hearted smirk as he dropped onto the bar stool.

"Don't talk to me," Nina scowled. Her hair was falling in wisps over her eyes, and her head was lowered as if she were depressed. In reality, she was in deep concentration, and she was afraid that her contact with Hwoarang would endanger her cover in assassinating Steve Fox. Fox was nowhere to be found, however, and Hwoarang wasn't about to be brusquely brushed off.

"I'm most definitely fighting Fox next match," he continued uninterrupted. He grinned across the table at her, crossing his legs casually as if nothing were happening.

Nina seemed agitated that he used her victims name aloud in a public place. Without meeting his eyes, she narrowed her lids and said with feigned casualness: "Come on, now's not a good time or place for talking about _business…_" She trailed her fingernail over the surface of her wine glass, creating ripples with its sharpness.

"People will just think I'm flirting with some chick at a bar, happens all the time. I mean, you are pretty hot even if you're a dinosaur. You're what, 100 or something?"

"I don't remember," she muttered sharply.

"Soooo, who are you fighting?" he asked light-heartedly.

"None of your business."

"Geez, what's the matter with you today?" Hwoarang flicked a bit of his fiery red hair out of his face, and arched an eyebrow.

"Most scumbag perverts who pick up chicks in a bar would understand that NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS means NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" Nina hissed sharply. A couple of people at nearby tables and stools turned to look at the two of them.

Hwoarang rolled his eyes. "You didn't say that."

Nina's angry expression suddenly dispersed and was replaced with one of intense aggression. "What." The question was clearly not a question, but rather a statement meant to provoke Hwoarang to retract his remark or back down and mind his own business. Unfortunately, Nina didn't know Hwoarang very well.

"You didn't say 'None of your damn business,' just 'None of your business,'" Hwoarang stated.

With a loaded glare, Nina remarked, "You've taken one too many blows to the head, you're IQ has pitched below retardation."

"Oh, you're really mad aren't you," Hwoarang suddenly looked concerned. He leaned forward, tipping his head to one side imploringly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Nina snapped.

"Yeah right nothing's wrong, is this some sort of chick PMS thing?"

There is nothing more dangerous for a man to do than to chalk all of a woman's mood swings up to PMS. It's especially unfortunate if the woman really is PMSing, which will result in another unfavorable mood swing. That last remark was about all that Nina could take. With a swift motion she sprung to her feet, and landed a hard slap on Hwoarang's cheek. Gripping him firmly around the neck and taking advantage of his surprise she caught him in a stranglehold.

"I will not hesitate to change targets should the opportunity present itself," she threatened. She threw him away, and he stumbled only a step or two before catching himself. As she stalked out the door, she called back, "I'm facing your little muse in the fight tomorrow. It'll be too easy, like taking candy from a baby…" With a slam she finished her exit.

People around the bar glanced uneasily at Hwoarang as he stood there, restraining the urge to return her blow. The conflict between retaliating and keeping a low profile were waging in his head.He glared sharply at the people staring, and they instantly turned around. No one picked fights with members of the King of the Iron Fist tournament; except for other members of the King of the Iron Fist tournament.

"Women," he muttered acidly. His mind tickled with wondering what in the world her problem was that day. After running a hand through his hair, he headed out of the bar and too his bike.

The engine roared as it revved, and he swung a leg easily over the seat as he put his goggles in place. After settling into his seat, a new question wriggled its way into his mind: _Who's my "muse"?_ He was about halfway to the hotel when it finally occurred to him…

Nina was talking about Xiaoyu.

* * *

Xiaoyu dropped into the splits on her floor, pressing her cheek against her shin and touching her fingertips to the gym tile. Panda was sitting with her back pressed against a locker, facing Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu was preparing for her match today, this time against Nina Williams. The announcement day had been largely uneventful, since neither Jin nor Hwoarang bothered to show up.

"Hwoarang's a pretty cool friend," Xiaoyu said easily. Panda tipped over sideways and flopped on the floor so she could look her friend in the eye while she was stretching. She grunted deep in her throat.

"Oh no no, ew, I don't LIKE him, Panda. Yeesh!" Xiaoyu sat up, rolling her shoulders before leaning the other direction to stretch her other leg. Panda groaned, and laboriously crawled the other direction to listen closely. "He's cool and all, he's just not a good person, you know? Like Jin."

Easily she hopped from the splits to her feet, and straightened her pigtails. Panda got up, stood next to her, and the two of them practiced their punches in brief silence.

"I have a good feeling about this match." That was the last thing she said, before slipping into a meditative silence for practice.

* * *

"I HAVE arrived!" Hwoarang announced as he trotted up behind Baek.

"I knew you'd be here," Baek said simply. "You sleep through all your trainings, but you must have perfect attendance on every match involving women."

"I have a lot at stake on this one," Hwoarang admitted. "And, there's someone I hope to run into here…"

"Of COURSE you do, Hwoarang, and I'm Paris Hilton." Baek smiled and shook his head at Hwoarang.

"Always wanted to meet you, ma'am," Hwoarang said, giving Baek a playful smack on the shoulder.

Nina slipped up from behind and muttered, "Oh, how touching."

Hwoarang whirled around and grinned cattishly. "Oh, come to say sorry, have you? Well, I forgive you for slapping me."  
Nina shook her head, flipping her bangs back. She was dressed in her purple fighting clothes, though she had still adorned high-heeled shoes. She seemed simultaneously distracted and focused, as she looked right through him. "Whatever. I have no intention of going easy on your little friend. I just need a little favor."  
"Go on, I'm ignoring you," Hwoarang muttered, pretending to examine his fingertips. A long moment passes. It doesn't stop. Hwoarang blinks a bit, before looking up at Nina. "Well?"

She paused again, before saying tensely, "You'd better cheer for me, jackass, or I'll add you to my assassinations list." With that, she pushed him and strode towards the ring, where the ropes were set up.

Hwoarang was too busy being stunned to respond coherently. Baek quietly rolled his eyes. "I think she likes you."  
"I think I hope she doesn't like me," Hwoarang responded lamely. He didn't have any time to calm down, however, for a moment later he felt something pounce on him from behind.

"Boo!" Xiaoyu said, giggling loudly. Unfortunately, Hwoarang didn't share her mirth, and looked three fourths on the way to an aneurism. When he didn't respond, Xiaoyu took the initiative and said, "Thanks for coming to my match! It's always nice to have support, and Panda kinda stinks at cheering and things like that, even if she's mega-supportive otherwise, and I guess the rest of my friends just aren't here, so it was nice of you to come! I've gotta run, by!" She threw her arms around his waist in a hug, and then tore through the crowd to the ring.

A long, low, windy sound was heard, and it took Hwoarang a moment to realize it came from Baek. "I envy you, boy," Baek said. When Hwoarang gave him a quizzical look, he responded, "I'm just too old to have beautiful women give me hugs and death threats anymore… Enjoy it while it lasts."

"I'll try," Hwoarang muttered.

Meanwhile, Xiaoyu was in her corner facing Nina. Nina looked up at her, her eyes sharp and intense. Xiaoyu smiled broadly and strolled over. After sticking out her hand, she said brightly, "May the best girl win!"  
Nina's blue eyes narrowed, as sharp as steel. "I will bury you," she hissed.

"You know, you don't HAVE to act all tough, we could be, like, friends, you know?" Xiaoyu seemed completely undeterred by Nina's threatening demeanor.

"It's sad to see you, acting so cute, just to get people to like you. It's like you never bothered to grow up," Nina growled. "You're standing in between me and my goal, and I will beat you until you can't stand if I have to in order to get to that goal. In the ring, no one can save you, "girl.""

Xiaoyu blinked, and stepped back. The announcer crowed "Ling Xiaoyu and Nina Williams, FIGHT!"

Xiaoyu was completely unprepared.

Which is exactly what Nina wanted.

With a swift slap across the cheek, Xiaoyu tumbled to the ground. Her cheek stung, but her pride stung even more. Nina mockingly blew a kiss to her, and the men in the crowd cheered. Xiaoyu stumbled to her feet, and attempted to kick Nina to trip her. Nina, however, grabbed Xiaoyu's leg, threw her to the ground, and twisted. Hard.

The pain was incredible, and Xiaoyu could feel her tired muscles begin to sting. Nina sharply kicked her thigh again with a pointed high heel, and a white flash flew in front of Xiaoyu's eyes.

_Oh no, she didn't_, Xiaoyu's mind stammered.

The announcer started counting. If he reached ten, she would lose this round. "ONE!" His voice rang clear and true.

"TWO!"All her mind wanted to do was rip Nina to pieces, but all her body could do was lay there, lay there like a little girl who sprained her ankle.

"THREE!" The conflicting emotions drew a confused tear to her eye, and she rolled her head to the side to look in the crowd.

Dark, brown and caring eyes met hers. Panda had gently laid down on the ground outside of the arena, so her eyes could meet Xiaoyu's. She tipped her head slightly, as if to nudge Xiaoyu to her feet. _Get up…_

"SEVEN!"

Nina was waiting, a dark smile on her face. The announcer had continued counting, his voice breaking the connection between Xiaoyu and Panda.

"EIGHT!"

_Get. Up._

"NINE!"

"Aw, come ON Xiaoyu, you're stronger than that!" another voice called. Nina recognized it before Xiaoyu, and her eyes darted to the crowd. Unfortunately, with her attention diverted, Xiaoyu seized the moment to roll forward. With a turning kick with her good leg, Xiaoyu swept Nina to the floor.

There were scattered cheers as the announcer motioned that the round wasn't over yet. Nina didn't stay surprised for long. She rolled to her feet easily, despite her high heels. Xiaoyu, however, was prepared. With an elaborate twirl on her toes, she built up momentum and crashed her arms into Nina's shoulder. Nina stumbled backward, hitting the ground and snapping one of her heels. There was a horrible popping sound from her foot as her ankle twisted inside the boot. Xiaoyu hit the ground next to her, her left leg stinging sharply. She forced herself up, causing the pain to worsen, but keeping the round.

The announcer began counting. Nina staggered, struggling to get to her feet. When the announcer reached three, however, she stopped trying. She simply sat there while the count went out, her cold blue eyes rested on Xiaoyu.

At first, Xiaoyu couldn't believe her eyes. This woman was too tough, too strong to just throw in the towel. But there was something about those eyes, those icy blue eyes that told Xiaoyu that this match was not over yet.


	11. Chapter 11: Deeper Than the Superficial

**Chapter Eleven: **

"ROUND 1, LING XIAOYU!" There were people in the crowd encouraging Nina, while others cheered for Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu backed away from Nina, not breaking eye contact. It felt as if any moment that horrible stare Nina had would solidify into knives, and Xiaoyu didn't feel comfortable turning her back. In her corner, Nina removed her boots, and wrapped tightly her swelling ankle.

"GREAT JOB, I was rooting for you," Hwoarang said from behind.

Xiaoyu jumped. "Oh my gosh, you scared me-!" she squealed.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," he muttered. "Now, don't let Nina see me, I highly doubt she's happy with me right now, and unfortunately I stand out in a crowd."

"Just ask Panda to help you," Xiaoyu said distractedly. Her thigh was still hurting, and she noticed a small trail of blood finally peaking out from under the edge of her gold shorts.

"'Just ask Panda,' you make it sound like it's NORMAL to talk to… talk to… Dang, she got you good with that heel, didn't she?" Hwoarang squatted outside the rope to check her thigh's wound.

"It really really hurts," Xiaoyu said frankly. She had no intention of letting it affect her fighting, but she wasn't going to be tough about it. The tears were already pooling in her eyes. She motioned for a medic, and asked for a bandage quickly.

"It's probably bruised, a bandage would only stop the bleeding," Hwoarang observed casually. "You should get an ice-pack or something, to numb it a little."  
"It might be worse if I did that," she said wistfully. "I'll just tough it out, she wasn't that hard to beat, and she's got it much worse than I did. I think she sprained her ankle."

Hwoarang straightened back up with a flourish, flipping his hair back. "Yeah, but she got to sit down a while. You've been standing up this whole time, fighting, hurting it more."

_Hurting it more…_"Oh my gosh, so THAT'S her game!" Xiaoyu said suddenly. The fifteen minutes were drawing to a close quickly. "I'll bet everything I own she's going to go for that leg until I can't get up anymore."

"Keen observation," Hwoarang muttered. "She's good at what she does, and what she does is fight dirty. Don't let her get away with that, Xiao."

Xiaoyu didn't respond. She was planning in her mind. Hwoarang seemed to understand that enough, and decided to see if Panda really would help him out. Nina had unfortunately recognized his voice, however, when he called to Xiao- he wasn't getting off that easy.

The announcer returned to the center of the ring, and with his normal pomp and aplomb, announced "LING XIAOYU AND NINA WILLIAMS, ROUND 2!"

Nina strode forward with surprising ability, considering the state of her ankle. Xiaoyu kept her hands in front of her thigh defensively. That didn't stop her opponent. Nina delivered a swift, powerful kick in between Xiaoyu's legs with her good foot. Xiaoyu stumbled forward as Nina drew her hand back. She slapped Xiaoyu once with the palm of her hand, and then she drew the back of her hand harshly against Xiaoyu's other cheek. Xiaoyu hit the ground hard on her left leg, and couldn't resist crying out.

With a vain strut, Nina wandered around the edge of the ring, waving at the crowd. Her slight limp did not at all impede on her movement, and she was an immediate crowd favorite. Xiaoyu listened to the count, and quickly slid up to her feet. She didn't stand completely, however. She crouched low, very low to the ground, with her left leg bent behind her and her right leg out in front of her. Her arms were straight up above her.

Nina seemed to find her position amusing. She stepped forward as if to step on Xiaoyu again as she did before. Xiaoyu, however, was ready. With one swift motion she threw all her weight forward and launched Nina into the air. Then, with a powerful follow-through, she plunged the heels of her palms into Nina's abdomen, sending her sprawling backward.

There was a cheer from the audience at the incredible air-time Xiaoyu had managed to get. Nina staggered back to her feet. Her forehead had been cut from the impact, and a steady stream of blood ran down the front of her face. It was obvious she was in pain, but only because of the cold sweat she had on her forehead. She still stood confidently, prepared to strike back at Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu, however, never gave her the opportunity. She quickly returned to her position, giving temporary relief to her throbbing leg. Nina moved forward, her feet planted firmly. Nimbly, Xiaoyu rolled to the side and smacked Nina in the chest. When Nina stumbled ever so slightly, Xiaoyu took advantage of her loss of balance and threw her to the ground. There was a snap heard, and Nina's nose instantly started bleeding. She struggled to get up, but between her ankle, the cut on her forehead, and her now broken nose, she gave in.

"ROUND 2, LING XIAOYU!"

The fire in Xiaoyu's blood abated, and the astonished expressions of people in the audience filled her with accomplishment. She'd won. She jumped up in the air to cheer, and then proceeded to collapse to the ground. The medics pounced, and dragged her off to set her leg.

Laid out on a hospital bed, while she waited for the doctor, Nina stared at the ceiling and let herself drift into a slight lull. When she heard voices begin speaking, however, her alertness returned and she quickly tuned in.

"Nina… Williams. That name sounds familiar."

"She was involved in that experiment the Zaibatsu conducted, she was the donor."

_Donor…?_

"Ah yes, she gave the egg. And the product… Steve Fox, was it?"

A cold chill traveled down Nina's spine. She glanced towards the door. It had been closed, but years of training had given Nina much sharper hearing. The doctor glanced over at her casually, completely oblivious.

A donor, a donor for an egg, an egg which was used to create Steve Fox. How could such a thing be?  
Was she really her target's mother?

Later in the lobby, Xiaoyu was sitting at a chair, her leg propped up and properly treated. People were flooding in, giving congratulations to her. She smiled graciously, and entertained them with stories and her infectious good mood. Even Steve Fox came up to say good job.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the lobby. You remember, when I mistook you for the mafia?" he said lightly. His accent was perfectly British, and though he had lost his fight he came out with a certain amount of grace. "I admit, I didn't take you for much of a challenge when I first saw you, but you proved me wrong!"

"I got lucky," Xiaoyu said modestly.

"The only matter of luck is that the world didn't spontaneously end during your fight," Steve joked.

Xiaoyu giggled, and then, retaining her smile, she leaned over and whispered to Panda, "Do you get it?" Panda shook her head, watching Steve blankly.

"Well, I'd best be off. It was a pleasure to meet you," he said with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you too!" Xiaoyu replied perkily.

Julia Chang had been standing behind him, reading through some papers on a clipboard while she waited for him to finish. When he turned around to leave, he almost walked right through her, and her papers flew to the floor in a whirlwind.

"Oh, I'm very sorry-" he replied, hastily picking up the papers, giving them back to Julia, and leaving.

Julia rolled her eyes and slid off her glasses. "Hello, Xiaoyu. Good to see you again," she said.

Xiaoyu smiled at Julia. The two of them had met in past tournaments, and though they couldn't be considered much more than acquaintances, a bond of mutual respect had been forged between them. They were always cordial and appreciatory.

"Great job in that match, it's always nice to see good triumph over evil," Julia joked.

This time, Xiaoyu understood the joke, and she laughed lightly. "Well, Nina's not ALL bad-"

Before Xiaoyu could finish speaking, however, a loud, sharp sound rang from outside of the hotel, followed quickly by a window shattering. Someone screamed, and a lot of people ducked to avoid the glass shrapnel. Then, everyone in the lobby quickly looked at the glass entry way, only to see Steve Fox ducking behind a car outside. There was the dead body of a man in a black suit and tie, a gun settled a few feet away from him.

Xiaoyu looked at Julia, and Julia nodded. She quickly dropped her clipboard on Xiaoyu's lap and ran closer. Steve had bolted across the street by then, and Julia arrived in time to see Nina nimbly bounding from the fire escape of the building over there.

Unfortunately for Nina, her sprained ankle impeded her running. And, just as she reached the sidewalk, Lei Wu Long, the police officer, began tearing down the fire escape after her. However, when he reached the bottom Steve pounced him, and flattened him to the ground. Nina seized the opportunity, and ducked into an alleyway.

Julia jogged over to Steve, and quickly said, "What are you DOING? She tried to shoot you!"

Steve, whose eyes had been glued to the alleyway Nina disappeared into, looked up suddenly. "She… she saved my life! HE tried to kill me!"

"WHAT!" Lei and Julia said together. Nina's career was no secret, and neither was Steve Fox's run-in with the mafia. It had seemed so logical that she would assassinate him. What had changed? Lei wriggled out from under Steve, and bolted to the alley way after Nina. Julia just stood their looking dazed and confused.

"What a day it has been," Steve said casually. He looked over at Julia, saying, "Do you need a drink or something? You look pale."  
Julia was even more flabbergasted at his nonchalant manner. "You almost got KILLED!" she exclaimed. He just shrugged. Julia shook her head, said "This is too weird for me," and returned to the lobby.

When she got back, Hwoarang had joined Xiaoyu. He'd sat on the floor in front of Panda, and had leaned back, using Panda's fur as a cushion. Xiaoyu looked up expectantly, and Julia recounted the whole story.

"I tell you, those brits are some STRANGE folks," he muttered. "I mean, cool country and all, but wow."

"And you're basing this off of a judgment of a single person. By that logic, all Chinese people must be short, innocent, and sweet because Xiaoyu is short, innocent, and sweet," Julia scolded.

"Aw, thank you," Xiaoyu said. She rubbed the top of Panda's head. "Anyway, Nina isn't all bad-"

"She's a friend of mine," Hwoarang blurted. "Of course she's not all bad, she just has a job, like the rest of the world."

"I'm not sure exactly what just happened there, but someone got shot and no one got arrested for it. That doesn't really seem good to me," Julia said. She gently picked up her clipboard off of Xiaoyu's lap, and dusted it of tenderly.

"Well, it's better than someone who's innocent getting in trouble for something they didn't do," Xiaoyu said optimistically.

Julia looked impressed. Hwoarang looked like he didn't notice Xiaoyu had said much of anything philosophical. "I'm just glad I beat him in my match with him," Hwoarang said casually.

"It was really funny to watch," Xiaoyu said to Julia. "Hwoarang used his legs like, all the time. That's his fighting style! And then Steve was a boxer, so he was always using his hands and punching and stuff. I wished you could've been there!"

"Whatever. I've got some research on reforestation. There are a couple of documents I want to look over before tomorrow, so I'll have to bid you goodbye," Julia said intelligently. She waved gently, and left the lobby.

"Wow," Hwoarang whispered. "I think she's as noble as you, Xiao."  
"I think she's nobler than me," Xiaoyu replied happily. "I wish we could talk more, but it seems like the only chances I get to see her involve someone getting beaten up or hurt."

"Thus is the nature of the tournament," Hwoarang replied. He stretched, and got up. "I'd better train some more. It never hurts to be to prepared, you know?"

Xiaoyu laughed, nodding fervently in agreement. "Except that I have some serious rehabilitation to do right now."

"Eh," Hwoarang shrugged. "I'll train hard enough for the both of us." He smiled, and said "just take care of yourself, kiddo." He waved to her, and headed towards the elevator to go to the basement gym.

Xiaoyu looked over to Panda. Panda looked up, and smiled a Panda smile, resting her chin on the arm of Xiaoyu's chair. Xiaoyu settled deeper back, closing her eyes. "Thank you, Panda… I think you're the best friend there ever was…."


	12. Chapter 12: A Twist of Fate

**Chapter Twelve: A Twist of Fate**

When Xiaoyuwas in the middle of her repose, she found herself so bored of keeping off her leg that she decided the only way to entertain herself was to go to sleep early. At about 8 O'clock, she had Panda help her to her room, where she could drift off.

"Maybe my dreams will be more exciting," Xiaoyu mused to Panda.

Panda grunted, and took her guard's position at Xiaoyu's door. Xiaoyu carefully settled her leg so her weight wasn't on it, flipped on her blankets and comforter, and drifted off to sleep.

_Xiaoyu awoke in an open field. She didn't know how she got there, or where she came from. She simply was there, and that's all that mattered. The field was alive with the soft white heads of dandelions flowing back and forth in a breeze Xiaoyu couldn't feel. The ruins of a castle stood proudly at one end, its bold and black shadow swallowing up some of the tiny heads of the dandelions._

_The field rose into a hill topped with a tree, and the moon rested towards the uppermost branches, bright and round and full. The blackness of the sky was almost completely illuminated by the moon. It seemed to fill the sky with its beautiful light. Xiaoyu found the whole place poetically dull, and she trailed her fingertips along the dandelion heads in order to shake off some of the white tufts._

_Then from the corner of her eye, Xiaoyu found that she was not alone. A figure emerged from the seeming blackness of the shadow of the ruins. Dressed in black, a suit by the looks of it, his hair was dark and drifted in the breeze. The movement of his coattails looked like black wings trailing behind. She recognized him almost immediately. Suddenly, the dream was far more interesting, with Jin playing part with it._

_Jin's face faded slowly into darkness, but it did not altogether disappear. _The sharp line of his jaw blurred, and his deep brown eyes seemed to settle deeper into his face. That was when Xiaoyu realized she'd only been dreaming…

But she woke up with Jin leaning over her.

With a startled cry, Xiaoyu sat up, almost head-butting Jin in the process. He ducked out of the way swiftly, and shifted a little further towards the edge of the bed. His movements were quick but silent.

Slowly, his features came to her more clearly, and she finally believed that Jin was indeed sitting beside her on her bed. The thought confused her far more than her dream had, and she murmured quietly in Japanese, "Jin…? What are you doing here?"

"Xiao, listen closely," he whispered back. His eyes met her steadily, and she noticed a foreign light seem to pass through them. Was that fear? "I can't explain much, but my room isn't safe anymore."

"Why not..?" she murmured dumbly, peeling stray strands of hair from her face.

Jin ignored her, and continued. "Would you mind if I stayed in your room?"

Xiaoyu blinked. Jin waited. Xiaoyu blinked some more, her eyelids drooping and threatening to go back to sleep in her silence. Jin took her pause as shock, and said quickly, "I'll just sleep on the floor, that's not important. It's just not safe. You won't even notice I'm here."

After he finished, Xiaoyu's mind slowly digested the information. "I…. guess so. You can have Panda's roomkey, I think I made an extra for her."

Jin nodded, glancing silently at Panda before slipping off of her bed and settling on the floor. That was the first time in the encounter that Xiaoyu noticed Panda.Panda wasn't sleepy or dazed, like Xiaoyu,but rather completely alert. She had been like that since Jin had arrived at the window. Silently, Panda dragged one of the blankets off of her bed. That left Xiaoyu with the comforter. Jin took the blanket gratefully, and curled up.

Playfully, Xiaoyu rapped him against the head with an extra pillow. "Good night," she said drowsily dropping the pillow on his head.

He smiled that ghostly thin smile, and adjusted the pillow for comfort. "Do you remember the thunderstorm..?" he asked evenly.

Xiaoyu reflected a moment, but even her tired mind could waft back into the past. It had been back at the Mishima home, not too far from the Zaibatsu. Xiaoyu had only been in the household a week. She had beenpicked upby Heihachi after he found her on one of his shipping boats, his crew beaten to a pulp and her demanding entry to the tournament. He did more than just that; he adopted her.

Despite her spunk, however, Xiaoyu had a few weaknesses, including focus, a fear of drowning, and lightening. Where she came from, there were very few intense thunderstorms. They seemed omnipresent at Mishima Zaibatsu. In her two weeks there, she had experienced two. The first, she tossed and turned in her mattress all night, each flash of lightening like a pulse traveling through her body and making her jump. The second time, she simply could not take it. She dressed, and tore down the hall in search of help.

She found Jin. He had been getting a drink, and was dragging his feet back to his room when Xiaoyu happened upon him. It was against all odds that the two of them should be standing in the same room of the magnificent house at the same moment at an unholy hour of night. It didn't strike Xiaoyu in its entirety until she reflected upon it later.

Then, however, it was like running into an angel. She stumbled up to him, breathless and harried, and said desperately, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Jin was surprised to say the least. They hadn't spoken very much before that moment, and her unfamiliarity with Japanese was reflected with her misusing several of the words in that sentence. A particularly powerful peal of thunder reverberated against the walls, and at the same moment a bright flash of lightening lit the room. Jin had begun to glance towards the windows, but Xiaoyu squealed and clamped her hands to her ears.

The revelation began to come to Jin, and he understood her request better. He touched Xiaoyu's shaking shoulder gently, and said in casual, accented Japanese, "Come with me."

Xiaoyu had studied Japanese for four years by that point. She was familiar with the language, but was completely unused to conversing with it. His accent was so foreign to her that he could have been speaking Vietnamese and she couldn't have identified the difference.

He turned and continued on his way. She didn't initially follow him, unsure of what he'd said and unsure of what to do. After he cast a look over his shoulder back at her, however, and another flash of lightening slashed the sky, Xiaoyu scurried after him, keeping her head down and walking behind him.

The Mashima mansion was opulent, large, and easy to get lost in. Xiaoyu found the night-time darkness oppressive, and on occasion she would take a few steps closer to Jin, trying to dispel the horrible sensation that within the dark shadows were hidden assailants. Of course, there were no such attackers. The figures in the dark shadows were merely Heihachi's Tekken Force, who spent their time keeping a close eye on what passedduring the watches of the night. Though they reported the odd event to the higher authority, none of them thought it relevant to mention it to Heihachi.

Finally, Jin slipped into his room. It was somewhat disheveled. His suitcase was still open on the floor, though he had been there for at least two months. Various training equipment was tossed around after many training sessions ending in intense fatigue. He unceremoniously shoved the equipment aside, and motioned gently to his unmade mattress resting on the floor. He spoke naturally in his native tongue, but Xiaoyu could only look at him, confused. Tiredly, he repeated "You sleep here," and he touched the mattress.

When he articulated,she had more of an opportunity to understood the words. She sat down at the foot of the bed, straightened his sheet, and lay down on his mattress. Jin had gone to his suit-case, and he took out several cotton shirts and cleared a spot on the floor several feet away from the mattress. Rolling up his shirts, he used them as a pillow, and he took off his robe to use as a blanket.

Xiaoyu watched him silently, listening to rain pounding the ceiling. After a moment of uncertainty, she whispered in her broken Japanese, "How will I know you're still there?"

The storm continued to rage as Jin rolled over to face Xiaoyu. He murmured something she didn't understand, which was swallowed by the sounds of the storm. However, he took her hand gently, and settled into his pillow.

Looking at Jin now, Xiaoyu could scarcely believe the changes which had taken place in him. Not only was he taller and broader, which could be expected, but he was also much darker. His smile haunted his face, as if there were a ghost inside of him rather than a spirit. He always seemed to have ssome sardonic secret he was keeping from her. Even now, as he attempted to sleep, he seemed unabled to rest. His face still wore the same tumultuous expression he had while wide awake.

Xiaoyu settled into her pillow, and said, "Yup. I remember the thunderstorm. But this time, there isn't any storm." She spoke with much improved Japanese, which caused that odd, ghostly smile of his to return to the corners of his mouth.

_Not in that sense of the word_, Jin thought.

The silence returned momentarily, before Xiaoyu broke it once more. "Why do you always sleep on the floor?" she asked naively.

Jin laughed quietly, sitting up and looking at her. "I would rather not be sharing a room with you in circumstances such as these…" He allowed her a moment of surprise, before continuing to say "I would never want anyone to see you as any less innocent as you are."

Xiaoyu cocked her head to one side, hersleep-tossled, pig-tailless hair swishing over her shoulders. Jin laughed a short laugh, before saying, "Good night, Xiao."

"Good night, Jin…"

"Grrrrrrgh."

"Good night, Panda!" Xiaoyu added quickly.

Panda, appeased, growled softly, settling back at the foot of Xiaoyu's bed. "Rrrgh…"


	13. Chapter 13: Of Mice and Men

**Chapter Thirteen: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry**

"Dammit, where IS he?" the head of security cursed. He had been tracking Jin for the duration of the Tournament, keeping close tabs on his room, the gym, and all of Jin's other favorite haunts.

"Heihachi will be most displeased if that brat grand-kid of his isn't found soon," the Tekken Force commander said. When Heihachi got displeased, everyone knew heads would roll in only a matter of time.

"I really don't understand what happened. We had a post on his room, everything was going to plan. Unless that kid can smell danger like a dog, or go joyriding outside the windows, he shouldn't have known about your ambush."

"You weren't careful enough. But don't worry. Kazama can't play "Hide-and-go-seek" forever. He has to come out, he has matches to worry about."

The head of security sighed in the back of his throat, shaking his head incredulously. "Who is this guy?

"What do you mean "Who is this 'guy,'" he's Jin Kazama, Heihachi's grandson, that's who he is," Commander Hideki replied dryly.

"But he doesn't sleep, he disappears right off of the radar, wins every match by a land-slide… this kid is-"

"Don't worry yourself over trifles like that," Commander Hideki interrupted. "That's for Mishima Zaibatsu's scientific unit to worry about. You're security, and you'd better do your job right before this cushy job of yours is turned against you. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it."

* * *

Xiaoyu awoke to sun shining through her open curtains, warm feet where Panda had laid down, and absolutely no sign of Jin. She looked at the spot on the floor, and discovered the extra pillow and blanket weren't there anymore; rather, the pillow was next to her on the bad, and she was cocooned deep into the blanket.

She stretched, checked the spot where Jin had laid the night before just to be sure, and then said to Panda, "Was that all just a dream?"

Panda turned her head to Xiaoyu lazily, and dragged her large black-and-white body off of the bed. Xiaoyu was rattled with confusion.

In that time between waking and sleeping, quite frequently it's hard to tell what really happened and what was merely a dream. Xiaoyu's mind desperately struggled for some concrete evidence that her memory was a memory, but all her search unearthed was hazy, dream-like memories.

But Jin was there.

Wasn't he?

Suddenly, there was a crisp knock on the door. With a jump and a yelp of surprise, Xiaoyu scrambled out of bed. Once her initial shock had faded out of her bloodstream, however, she squealed. "I'll bet that's him," she said cheerily to Panda. "He's back! I knew it, it wasn't a dream, it wasn't!" She jogged to the door, opened it quickly, and gave a bright, loud, and enthusiastic "HI!"

Hwoarang looked very surprised, his brown eyes wide. Cocking a flattered eyebrow, he said, "Well, hi-"

SLAM! Xiaoyu panicked, closing the door with all of her might. Hwoarang was cut off on the other side, somewhat baffled. Xiaoyu leaned against the back of the door for a moment, composed herself, and opened the door again.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "You surprised me."

Hwoarang opened his mouth as if to speak, but for a moment, words failed him. After a whirl of comebacks, quips and insults floated through his mind, he decided on saying, "Those have to be the least sexy pajamas I have ever seen in my life."

Xiaoyu was dressed in her panda pajamas. Her loose, baggy T-Shirt was tan with a cartoon panda in the center, while her pajama pants were green and tan plaid with little bamboo shoots here and there.

"What, you don't like pandas?" Xiaoyu asked after examining herself.

With a short laugh, Hwoarang crossed his arms and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "How's your leg, kiddo?"

"My leg?" Xiaoyu looked confused. "What should be wrong with- OH! Right, my leg, Nina, stabbing and everything, right…."

"Wow, Xiao, I think you're even more bizarre when you just wake up than you are normally," Hwoarang quipped with a smile. "You could barely walk yesterday, don't tell me you've undergone a miraculous recovery."

Xiaoyu paused. Now that he mentioned her leg, she could feel the dull throbbing once again. It didn't seem to impede on her walking, though. She touched it gently. It stung horribly. "I guess it only really hurts when I touch it," she said lamely.

"Well, if you feel up to it, maybe we could go train together in the basement. It's a lot less sucky with someone interesting to talk to, you know." He dropped a hand to his hip, and cocked his head to the side while waiting for her reply.

"It is much better to train in company," she said cheerily. "That's why I have Panda!"

"Ah, well, I won't come between you and your Panda," he muttered. G_eez, first she slams a door in my face, than I'm prioritized under a giant fluffy bear with a hot pink collar… _

"Oh, pssht, I didn't mean it like THAT," she said. "Give me a minute to change, I'll meet you in the basement, okay?"

"'Kay, see you in the basement."

He trotted down the stairs until he finally got to the bottom floor. Once arriving in the gym, Baek looked up at him from his post on the bench. In the corner, several other King of the Iron Fist contestants were practicing their various forms of Martial Arts to be prepared. As Hwoarang slid off his street clothes and slipped into his other clothes, Baek asked casually, "So is your little lady-friend coming?"

"Yuuup," Hwoarang said blithely.

"Hmmm," Baek murmured. He took out the sparring equipment. "You seem happy about this new development," he added nonchalantly.

"Finally! I'll have some company other than my crusty, old dojo geezer to spar with," Hwoarang said teasingly, boxing Baek on the shoulder. "And, on top of that, I might get some info on Kazama. Can't find him anywhere anymore, like he just… up and vanished."

"Like last tournament," Baek said darkly. Hwoarang nodded. At the end of the last King of the Iron Fist tournament, Hwoarang had encountered Jin by the side of a nearby river. Some Tekken Force members had been roughing him up, and at the time Hwoarang and Jin were apathetic towards each other. Jin had yet to beat Hwoarang at his own game at that time. So, Hwoarang did what he did best- pulled out some serious Martial Arts moves and wiped the floors with the Tekken Force.

That's when things had gotten strange. Jin, though obviously injured, managed to stagger to his feet, and jump up three stories onto an overpass. No thank you, not a word of explanation. He just up and disappeared. To make things more interesting, Hwoarang could have sworn he'd seen Jin glow.

"Whatever that guy is," Hwoarang muttered, "he won't stand a chance against me this time. He didn't pull any of that creepy glowing crap last tournament, so I figure he can't control whatever it is. Whatever he can't control, he can't use against me."  
"That seems a bit hypocritical of you to say, considering you're trying to use Xiaoyu against him, but you can't control her."

"That's different," Hwoarang replied, somewhat sharper than he'd intended to. Baek raised an eyebrow, and he muttered an apology. At that moment, Xiaoyu hobbled down the stairs.

"Hey cripple, where's your cast?" Hwoarang called to her.

"I had them take it off, it itched and it kept rubbing against my bruise." She smiled cheerily, and pointed at her upper thigh. "See it?"

The bruise was decorated with colors never seen before, the vibrant blacks, blues and yellows standing out dramatically on Xiaoyu's pale skin. Hwoarang wrinkled his knows. "And I thought your pajamas were bad," he teased. Xiaoyu just giggled. "This is my Master, Baek," he said, introducing Baek with a casual wave of the hand.

"Pleasure to meet you," Xiaoyu said with a polite bow.

Baek bowed back. "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Ling."

"What is this, a tea party? We're not British, here, yeesh."

"Just because you're a mannerless street urchin doesn't mean the rest of us don't have any class," Baek said. Hwoarang stared at him, flabbergasted. "Well, us crusty old dojo geezers have a sense of humor too, you know."  
When Hwoarang smiled, Xiaoyu followed his example and understood that the exchange was that between old friends, and not enemies. Hwoarang put on his sparring equipment, and Baek helped Xiaoyu into hers, and they sparred mercilessly.

After Xiaoyu managed to throw Hwoarang in their first sparring match, Baek and she started giggling light-heartedly. "I say, I think ladies now-a-days are made of stronger stuff than the gentlemen," Baek teased.

With a giggle, Xiaoyu added "Never cross a Chinese woman, we have some warriors in our country!"

They continued teasing, but Hwoarang wasn't listening. His eyes had met the eyes of his rival, Jin, and he walked down the stairs.

"Hey, Kazama!" Hwoarang called sharply.

Jin obviously intended to ignore Hwoarang, but the fiery red-head was not about to let him get away with something like that. He quickly followed, and Xiaoyu watched with suddenly mixed emotions flying across her face.

"Think you can get rid of me that easily, do you Kazama?" he challenged.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Korea right now?" Jin replied emptily. "Military officers get so upset when their Privates go AWOL…" His remark obviously had a double meaning, which Xiaoyu missed completely but Hwoarang caught.

Xiaoyu looked at Hwoarang, somewhat imploringly and somewhat accusingly. "What's 'AWOL'?" she asked.

"It means your little friend is supposed to be in Korea, serving his country and using his abilities for the good of his country… Not settling petty personal vendettas." Jin spat this remark, and Xiaoyu winced.

" 'Good of the Nation,' I never knew you to be so poetic. What good have you ever done to your nation, Kazama? Just sitting around, being a rich brat who's too spoiled to think of anything other than himself?" Hwoarang darted in front of Jin, stopping him mid-step. Their eyes met tensely for a long moment. "I WILL get my rematch, Kazama, mark my words I WILL!"

"If this rivalry will only end once you're in a casket, then so be it," Jin replied.

"You know, it's getting harder and harder to know who to trust anymore," Jin finally responded. He shoved Hwoarang roughly to the side, and left the gym.

Hwoarang was baffled by that odd remark. "What kind of a comeback is THAT?" he called after Jin. He shook his head, and turned back to Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu had understood Jin's last words, however. She understood them and they cut her deeply. The moment Hwoarang looked at her, tears betrayed her and forced their way out of her eyes.

At first, Hwoarang didn't notice. He grabbed Xiaoyu's arm and took her back to where Baek was. He heard a soft, wet sniff, however, and when he turned to look Xiaoyu's waterworks were going full-power.

"Xiao?!" he asked, stunned.

Xiaoyu didn't reply, but rather ran back up the stairs, limping slightly but unwilling to slow down. Hwoarang watched her go and looked at Baek.

"Something tells me that didn't end well," Baek quipped. Hwoarang dropped onto the bench in the locker room, and cradled his chin in his hands.


	14. Chapter 14: Setting Up for a Bigger Fall

**Chapter Fourteen: Setting Up For a Bigger Fall**

"I made her cry," Hwoarang moaned. He rubbed the sides of his arms harshly, as if trying to chaff off the horrible feeling which had overcome her.

Baek sighed softly, a knowing smile on his face. "Don't sink into self-pity, boy, it doesn't suit you."

"I don't deserve to live on the same planet with noble people like you!"

""Noble people like me,' God, boy, you're delirious! Snap out of it!"

"I'm a terrible, horrible person, like… like… some big ugly beast thing that tramples on small, pretty flowers!"

"Very poetic," Baek chided.

"I can't even compare myself to poetic things, I'm so horrible!"

"Well, if it's any consolation," Baek began. "She didn't cry over anything you said. My understanding is that something Jin had said was what affected her."

"You're right!" Hwoarang said, brightening quickly. "That means I'M not the terrible, horrible, awful, ugly beast-thing; Kazama is! I didn't make her cry, that's all his fault!"

"Well, you're still a terrible, horrible, awful person for using the young lady like you.did," Baek added quickly. "But you aren't responsible for making her cry. Directly, at least."

Hwoarang sighed, staring at the floor. "I feel horrible," he murmured

"I know just the cure for that," Baek said brightly. "Nothing cures an aching heart like beating your body until your muscles ache."

Hwoarang raised a skeptical eyebrow towards Baek. He was about to make a sarcastic retort when Baek sprang up to his feet. He picked up a padded sparring tool, and held it up to his shoulder for a target.

"COME ON, Hwoarang, don't be such a woman! Get to your feet and give me 50 high kicks!" Hwoarang dragged himself to his feet. "Now now now, Soldier! I'm already old, I don't want to be dead by the time you finish! Get moving!"

Half-heartedly, Hwoarang kicked, landing his foot in the middle of the padding.

"Do you think that kick is going to floor Kazama? That fool who insulted your honor, your pride in your country?" Hwoarang kicked, feeling the memory of Jin's insults surface. "That fool who beat you in the ally?" Hwoarang's blood started to heat from the mention of his defeat. He kicked again, with a little more gusto. Baek's expression darkened, as he noticed Hwoarang's anger muscle aside his guilt. "That fool who made that nice little lady-friend of yours cry?"

BAM! Hwoarang landed a strong kick, catching Baek by surprise and making him stumble back into the lockers. Baek smiled, and said, "GOOD, boy! Only 46 left to go!"

* * *

Xiaoyu had settled onto her hotel bed. She had crossed her legs in front of her, with a box of tissues settled next to her. Panda had her chin rested on Xiaoyu's knee, and was looking up at her with big, dark eyes.

The tears had finally stopped. The mountain of tissues rested next to her gave testimony to that. But the hurt hadn't stopped yet. That, and her nose kept dripping like a fountain. She found herself delving deeper into her tissue supply for blowing her nose in loud honks rather than daubing her eyes. It was a good fifteen minutes before Xiaoyu could speak.

"Panda, am I not trustworthy?"

_Of course you're trustworthy, complete strangers could count on you,_ Panda communicated to Xiaoyu.

"Why doesn't Jin think so?" She sniffed, grabbed another tissue, and blew her nose again. Panda whimpered softly.

_Jin doesn't understand,_ Panda communicated.

Xiaoyu nodded softly. In her head, however, she heard the odd sensation of Yoshimitsu's voice reverberating on the walls of her mind. _"You seem like a very nice girl,_" he had said. _"Do what's best for you, and stay away from that boy Jin. He comes from a long line of people who aren't as nice as you."_

Xiaoyu knew about the Mishimas. They were a tabloid's dream; not only were they wealthy and famous, but completely dysfunctional. No one could argue against that. Kazuya had attempted to kill his father, Heihachi. Heihachi had succeeded in killing his son. Jin was born the illegitimate son of Kazuya and Jun Kazama, and Heihachi made it no secret that he wanted Jin, dead or alive. There was no love within the Mishimas.

But Jin wasn't a Mishima. He was a Kazama. Despite the rot and decay in Heihachi's family tree, Jun wasn't a product of that. Xiaoyu had only heard stories about Jun, stories Jin had told her in the Mishima household while they were still living together. Jun was pure, he had said. Her teachings were filled with honor and nobility, and doing the right thing. She encouraged people to love universally, not based on goodness or past experiences. To Jun, everyone was worthy of love -unfortunately, that must have been what got her messed up in the Mishima bloodline.

"Everyone thinks Jin is so bad," Xiaoyu sniffed. "I guess he is now, he says such mean things and they all cut deep." Panda looked up, her warm eyes following Xiaoyu along the tracks of her new train of thought. "But… Jin was the person who taught me how to be good. How can I be nice, and he be evil?"

_Things change._ After that foreboding remark, however, Panda got up off of Xiaoyu's lap. She crawled over to the dresser, and opened the bottom drawer. Xiaoyu watched her curiously. Carefully, Panda drew out a picture with her teeth. She brought it over to Xiaoyu, and let it flutter onto her lap. Xiaoyu picked up the picture. It had been taken by Miharu at Mishima High, back when Jin and she were still in school. Xiaoyu had been hugging Jin around the neck, pulling him over Panda. Although in the picture his expression was panicked, he had been having fun. _Things change, Xiao. But they can change again._

Xiaoyu paused, thinking through what Panda was telling her. She looked at the picture. Whenever Jin had been around the Mishima's, then and now, he wasn't the best of people. But around her, he seemed to glow. At school, he was known for being a good guy, good not being exclusive to good-looking.

"I can't… I can't change him, you can't change a person," Xiaoyu said softly. But Heihachi had changed Jin. Hwoarang had changed Jin. Even if she couldn't count on it completely, she knew that Jin needed someone in his life who wasn't after him. If having someone after him could change Jin, perhaps having someone helping him would change him.

"I… I understand," Xiaoyu said gently. "This won't be easy, you know. I don't think Heihachi wants anyone helping his grandson, and who knows what's going through Kazuya's head right now!"

Panda looked up encouragingly at Xiaoyu, and she took the picture back to its safe place. Xiaoyu got up, feeling empowered. "Alright. I'm going to help Jin. And to do that, I HAVE to stay in this tournament!" She paused, and went to her desk. In her notebook, she had written down her upcoming battle. "Hwoarang, that's my opponent. This'll be easy. He just wants revenge, he can get that anytime!"

* * *

Exhausted, beaten, and feeling completely restored, Hwoarang staggered into his room after training. He had two days before his next battle, so he wasn't too concerned about his fatigue affecting his performance. Two days… and he would find himself head to head against Xiaoyu. The battle would be a simple one, since she was only looking for Jin, and he had already failed her. Maybe she would even forfeit the match to avoid fighting him.

"Life is good," he said, folding his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. He was beginning to doze, when he heard a faint, electronic tune waft from his dresser. His cell phone was ringing.

Tiredly, Hwoarang staggered to his feet, and dragged himself over to the dresser. Grabbing his cell phone, he flipped it open. Nina Williams's name was glowing back at him. He pressed the green button to answer the call, and wearily said, "What do you want?"

"Meet me in the parking garage Friday night. Midnight is when I'll be able to come," she said crisply.

"Uh huh, so you can slap me again? I know you hate me now, you don't have to be all chummy chummy."

"Oh, stop thinking about yourself you red-haired pig. Just meet me in the parking garage. I don't want to kill you. I just need to say a few things, and unfortunately, the rest of the people in my life are somewhat less understanding."

"Aw, my deepest condolences," Hwoarang muttered sarcastically.

"Come. I'll make it worth your while."

Nina hung up after that remark. Hwoarang blinked. Worth his while? Words like that got his attention, and kept it for quite a long time. Friday. That was the day of his next battle, against Xiaoyu. He would probably be able to do both of those in one day, however.

"I'll consider it," he said to himself. With a careless hop, he fell back onto his bed, and slipped off into sleep completely uninterrupted.

* * *

"Sir, our bug finally caught something," Corporal Pak said.

"Tell me," Lieutenant Kim said lightly.

"Private Hwoarang Doo San's cell phone recently received a call. A meeting was set up for midnight in two days in a parking garage. We traced the call; it was made from Shinjuko, Japan."

"King of the Iron Fist," Lieutenant Kim muttered. "I'd bet my life on it. I should have known... Send a squad to Mishima Zaibatsu. Contact the Zaibatsu. Tekken Force is aggressive, we don't want to go in there and be blasted by that maniac Heihachi."

"Yes, sir!" Corporal Pak saluted, and left the room to carry out his orders.


	15. Chapter 15: Bed Sheets and Towels

**Chapter Fifteen: Bed Sheets and Towels.**

The room was dark. There was no one around, with it being so late. Night had fallen swiftly on Shinjuku, and left the hotel across the street from Mishima Zaibatsu bathed in darkness. The only light that remained was the false street lights, which left eerie shadows on the walls since the curtains were open.

It was Jin's room of the hotel. His bag of clothes was neatly set on a chair in the corner, his sparring gloves and his kickboxing pads were laid on top. The towels were mussed a little, and it was clear that they had been used to wash his face at some point.

All of this the Tekken Force saw. They noticed all of it, and came to the conclusion that Jin indeed was in the hotel. He went to the gym like the other contestants, and by all evidence, he was playing right into their hands.

So where was Jin?

And why were they always asking themselves this question whenever they reached a location he allegedly was?  
Out of frustration and desperation, the Tekken Force had posted a surveillance camera. They only had one camera, which watched the door faithfully. It didn't turn on its axis, so Jin couldn't possibly hear it. The last time they attempted something like this, he caught on from the mechanical creak of the camera on its axis.

Still, somehow Jin managed to enter and leave the room as he pleased. Without a trace of having existed, he would meander through the room as if there were nothing wrong. So the Tekken Force posted another camera, one to watch the window. Figuring both possible entries under surveillance, and the windows remaining locked, there was no way he could possibly come and go as he pleased.

It is unfortunate to say that the Tekken Force, no matter how diligent, seemed to be lacking in a sense of savvy which Jin apparently possessed. Only this time, they knew there was something very fishy going on.

There was no record of Jin entering or leaving his room at any point, but his bag did not remain in a steadfast position. The outfits contained within changed; the gloves and shoes would disappear and reappear. Had the Force been more ignorant, they would have surmised he could walk through walls, or make himself invisible. Something was fishy, and no guard or camera ever saw anyone enter or leave the room. Only housekeeping would sweet through, and the sweet old woman never touched anything but the bed sheets and towels. Only the bed sheets and towels.

Last night, however, the Force had wised up. Figuring that Jin would sweet through as he always did, they posted a guard hidden within his room. The guard's presence wouldn't be noticed from the outside, so as to discourage Jin, but would be prepared to send out a call to the others.

This poor sentry would spend his entire night watching the shadows climb and fall on the walls, making shapes with his fingers, watching the time, reporting every half hour, and wondering about that cute girl in surveillance he didn't have the guts to ask out. The poor lonely sentry wouldn't have any company that night.

Jin already had other plans.

* * *

"Okay, so how about THIS outfit?" Xiaoyu trotted into the room wearing her old fighting clothes. The large, yellow bow hung in the back, while her salmon covered pants didn't come down past her thighs. Apparently Xiaoyu had grown a little. 

"Rungh…" Panda shook her head, wrinkling her nose.

"You're right, Panda, I am too old for this look. It's sooooo last tournament" she winked, and quickly scurried into the bathroom to change again.

Panda paused a moment. Her black ears, highly trained and attuned to the slightest of motions, had picked up something. By the time Xiaoyu had changed, Panda was no longer sitting next to the dresser, but had moved to the window. Xiaoyu reentered, dressed in emerald green with golden pants.

"How about this? Does this just SHOUT I'll kick your-" Xiaoyu's eyes got wide suddenly when they rested on the window. A dark figure had appeared on the small balcony outside of her window. It took a moment for her dark brown eyes to find focus. "Jin?" She hurried to the window, undid the hook lock, and looked outside.

Jin was resting, perfectly casually, with his arms dangling over the railing. He was watching the building across the street idly, and when he heard her join him, he turned around and brushed a bit of bangs out of his face. "Well, you noticed." His tone was neither teasing nor chiding. Rather, it sounded like he was just talking without his soul.

_Come on, this is an opportunity!_ She thought to herself. _I can't stand here and be a chicken, I have to do something!_ "How long have you been out here?"

"Hmm, a while." His dark brown eyes met hers. It suddenly struck her how dark and deep they seemed to be. His eyes were border-line black, as if his pupils had swallowed up his irises and left only the hole.

Xiaoyu got very distracted by this observation, and for a moment, she didn't say anything.

For once, it was Jin to break the silence. He said quietly, "Now Xiao, being caught without anything to say is quite unlike you. I'm not sure it suits you."

Her pause broke almost instantly. With a light giggle, she said, "Well, I guess I'm just trying to figure everything out! So you're not mad at me?" Though she asked the question cheerily, on the inside her heart was desperately hoping for an answer.

"What do Hwoarang and you talk about," he asked. He turned around briefly to cast a glance over his shoulder, and he didn't return his eyes to her immediately. Xiaoyu digested the question quietly.

"Well, we talk about stuff… Fighting, life, I guess, Nothing too deep, just kinda friend stuff. You know?" A feeling of sheepishness had washed over her, and she desperately tried to brush it back. She couldn't help but feel that somehow she was ruining her chances with him, and the awful feeling grew slowly.

Panda discreetly sat by the door, trying not to invade. She had a bad feeling, however, which she could not shake. She was watching the pair's every move, trying to keep her ears open for anything that might give her a clue. Every motion, every gesture, every word Panda hung onto like a clue in a case.

"I don't like him, Xiaoyu," Jin said frankly. He paused, before adding, "I can't stop you from talking to him. Just don't mention anything about me. He doesn't need any encouragement, he already hates me enough."

"Well, maybe if I talked nicely enough about how you're not a horrible person, he might change his mind," Xiaoyu said optimistically.

"I don't think so, Xiao," Jin replied. And that was that.

* * *

"Good fight coming up tomorrow, barkeep, give me something good to drink!" Hwoarang said with a grin. 

"Will your girlfriend be there?" The taunt came from Violet, another King of the Iron Fist Tournament. Violet was really Lee Choalan in disguise, but his identity was not much of a secret. All he did was dye his hair purple, rather than its normal platinum white. He was associated with the Mishima family, after having been adopted by Heihachi.

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?" Hwoarang asked. He took the glass of milk the barkeep had given him and took a swig. He'd gained something of a reputation as being a teetotaler, even if he had no objection to alcohol. When it came to nights before fights, however, there were much cleverer things to be done, no matter how big of a cinch the fight might be.

"You've been spending a lot of time with that girl, Xiaoyu. I warn you, she's a bit of a spaz," Lee said teasingly.

"There's definitely nothing going on between us," Hwoarang said casually. He took another gulp, wondering how illegal it would be to stuff the glass up Lee's nose.

"Really, likely story. I'll believe that when I see it," Lee muttered.

"At most it would be called 'Friends with benefits.' I get the information that I want out of her, and she gets a friend out of me," he said defensively. There was a small voice somewhere in the corner of his mind which whispered quietly into his ear that this wasn't true. That voice was smothered out by all the other voices shouting for Hwoarang to defend his manhood and his honor, however.

"Oooh, and does she know this?" Lee asked.

Hwoarang shrugged casually. He was about to answer when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"You're absolutely sick, you know that?"

Most of the way ready to whirl around and put his fist through the perpetrator's face, Hwoarang spun only to see Julia Chang standing behind him. Her book was tucked under her arm, her glasses nestled on the edge of her nose like a librarian, and the fires of hell burning in her eyes. There was something surprising about the image. Hwoarang stammered, "All's fair in love and war."  
"Which is probably why you suck at both," Julia spat back. She drew her hand back, and slapped him with all of her strength. With that, she turned on her heel and clicked out of the room, her ponytail swishing angrily behind her.

Dumbstruck, Hwoarang tried to think of something to shout after her. All he could manage was " this is the second time in a week I've been slapped."

"This day and age, with feminism as it is? That's a compliment," Lee said with a sly smirk.

Hwoarang turned around and glared at Lee. He muttered a very bitter parting remark. He kept telling himself his pride wasn't damaged, and he kept telling himself people would probably forget about it.

Despite his deceitfully good ability at deceiving others, Hwoarang never could manage to do the same to himself.


	16. Chapter 16: Ichiban Shibori

**Chapter Sixteen:**

"Sir, I have a plan," Corporal Pak explained as Lieutenant Kim entered the room. Kim merely loomed behind Pak, observing the computer over his shoulder. Pak continued, "Hwoarang is scheduled to meet "Nina Williams" in the garage area tonight. So, we leave a group of men down there. Remove his motorcycle, to eliminate his modes of escape, and make sure Nina doesn't interfere."

"Honestly Corporal, could someone named "Nina Williams" be much of a threat?" Lieutenant Kim asked.

"Well, she was a participant in the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. We're not willing to take any chances with interference, especially not since Hwoarang can be problem enough as it is."

"You don't have to tell me. I was his commanding officer." Lieutenant Kim didn't venture an explanation, but the way he viciously massaged his temples as if chasing away a migraine gave testament to the nightmare Hwoarang was for him. "Oh, I can't wait to have that boy's fate in my hands again…"

* * *

Hwoarang looked at his watch groggily. It was only 10:20. He had an hour and forty minutes before he was going to meet Nina, and absolutely nothing to do to occupy his time; except for dwell on the earlier events.

Though he was not typically one to dwell, his idle evening gave him plenty of time to think deeper into all that he might have done wrong. That, and he hadn't had a chance to apologize to Xiaoyu for making her cry.

"What kind of beer do ya got?" Hwoarang demanded suddenly.

The bartender jumped in surprise. He had been chatting with another customer when Hwoarang interrupted him. "I thought you didn't drink that," the bartender remarked cattily.

"Yeah, well, I need something real to drink…. What have you got?"

"How about an Ichiban Shibori?" the bartender asked, reaching under the shelf and producing a bottle. "It's by Kirin."

Hwoarang's expression was blank. "What the heck is that? Is it strong?"

"Popular," the bartender shrugged.

"Fine…." Hwoarang picked up the bottle, tipped it back, and downed it within a second. "A'ight, give me about six or seven more and I should be good," he said to the bartender.

The bartender hesitated, but produced several more bottles. "So long as you can pay for it, kiddo, I'm not responsible for you…"

"Yeah yeah, I can pay," he muttered. He opened the second bottle_. I'll probably end up paying for it all of tomorrow_, he thought bitterly. _But for once, I definitely, definitely, need this…_

* * *

"Wow, I was beginning to wonder if you were allergic to sunlight or something!"

Jin woke up groggily. He had slept in Xiaoyu's room again, once more on the floor next to her bed. His hair was mussed and stuck up in strange directions, and it took a moment for his pupils to focus again in the light.

Even though Xiaoyu had gotten out of the shower only a few moments prior, she was already fully dressed in her old school uniform. While she let her hair dry, she had opened the window and let it down.

"When was the last time you went outside in the sun?" she asked idly, running a brush through her damp hair.

"Australia," Jin responded grumpily. He ducked under the shadow of her bed frame so he wouldn't have to adjust to the sunlight quite so soon. "Lot of sun in Australia, god-forsaken place…"

"I've never been!" Xiaoyu hopped up, and wandered over to the vanity. Panda lifted her head discreetly, glancing to watch Xiaoyu but turning to look at Jin. He struggled to his feet, closed the curtains quickly, and disappeared into the bathroom.

Xiaoyu looked at Panda, and shrugged. Panda grunted with a slight Panda smile. In spite of his obvious displeasure of being awake, Jin seemed much more human in the daylight than he had last night. His dark aura had disappeared, and had been replaced with a slightly grumpy but very familiar form of Jin.

"I think I would like Australia," Xiaoyu said with a smile. "Bright sun and cool accents? Sounds almost as neat as the Caribbean."

Panda shook her head as if to say "Not quite the same thing." The shower was heard coming to life, and Xiaoyu looked at the bathroom door momentarily. She was feeling a little unsure of what she was supposed to do in a circumstance like this. Heihachi had always told her not to let boys in her room, but that line had already been crossed. She was more preoccupied with ways to keep him engaged in conversation.

Five minutes later, Jin emerged, just as bleak and tired-looking as he had been when he had entered. He sat down at the foot of her bed and stared at the floor, apparently deep in thought.

"So…" Xiaoyu began. Her mind instantly blanked for topics of conversation. Desperately, she looked to Panda. Panda tenderly nudged her head towards his leg. He was still wearing his training clothes. "Do you, uh, have a match today?" she asked quickly.

Jin buried his hands in his hair silently, and didn't respond. With a sigh, Xiaoyu went back to brushing her hair. She started putting it up in pigtails when Jin finally spoke. "You know, you really should leave your hair down. It makes you look much older that way."

"Ew, I'm not old yet, I'm still young." She paused. The compliment computed, and she dropped her pigtail for a moment. "Do you really think so? I think I just look…" She pouches out her lower lip, examining her reflection closely. With her hair wet it flowed smooth and shiny. She looked at least twenty. "It makes my head look kinda flat, don't you think?

Jin blinked.

"I'll just tie it up, and then it won't get in my face in my fight today," she said, busily twisting her hair again into a pig-tail.

"Who are you fighting," Jin asked as he walked over to the window, opening it and peering to either side of the balcony from a safe distance inside.

"Hwoarang."

Jin froze. He gradually closed the door, and then said unfathomably, "I suppose that will put a bit of a wedge in your relationship."

"Probably not," she said with a smile.

"Wouldn't you feel even the least bit guilty beating up a friend?" Jin cocked an eyebrow as he said this, sounding incredulous.

" I don't want to beat him up or hurt him, but, well, my intentions are nobler than his. If he loses, I'm not dooming any small children to starvation or anything. He just won't get a vendetta." Xiaoyu had been prattling on without much reservation. However, she realized suddenly that mentioning Hwoarang's intentions in the tournament might be betraying a certain trust.

Of course, Jin wasn't in the least bit surprised. He knew that Hwoarang was in the tournament after him since the day Hwoarang had confronted him, and it didn't strike him as the least bit odd that Xiaoyu knew this.

"Oh, please don't beat him up unnecessarily or anything," Xiaoyu suddenly pleaded. She whirled around on her chair to face Jin.

"You don't seem to mind doing it yourself," Jin remarked flatly. She detected an icy town which she couldn't quite figure out. She wondered if he was disappointed in her.

"That's different, I have to. I just don't want you and Hwoarang picking fights with each other. It's like… if I do it, I know I won't go too far, you know? And, well, I don't…" she paused and sighed wistfully. "I don't like it when you guys fight. He may not be my best friend in the world…" Panda bristled up with pride, and Xiaoyu patted her on the ears. "…But he has been good to me. So would you promise me you won't hurt him?"

Jin paused. He glanced out the window again, and instinctively moved instead towards the door. "Xiaoyu, I can't promise anything. He picks fights with me too, you know that," he replied.

"Pleeeease?" Xiaoyu widened her eyes and dropped her lower lip, pulling out her most powerful puppy-dog face she had yet to pull.

Somehow, beneath it all, even Jin was affected. "…Fine," he yielded. "I'll do my best not to… kill him or something."

"Thank you!" Xiaoyu quickly dropped her expression and grinned, leaping up and giving him a hug. She only realized after she had latched onto him that Jin might be a little uncomfortable, and she hadn't hugged him in a very long time. By that point, she really didn't care.

A moment passed where Jin was simply shocked. Xiaoyu felt him tense up, and slowly relax. Then, he remembered his bad-boy persona. "Okay okay, yeah, whatever, I'm going to go… I'm going to go," he replied brusquely. He slipped out of her arms and out the door quickly.

Xiaoyu watched him leave, and then pumped her fist in the air. "You know what, Panda?"

Panda looked up and cocked her head to the side.

"I think that went really well."

Panda chuckled quietly with a small panda chuckle.

"Alright, so what do you want to do for breakfast? I have my fight today, at about 3, so I have the afternoon to get ready." She finished her other pigtail, and went over to the vanity to get her purse.

Panda humphed.

"Oh, you're right panda. My fight IS at two. Thanks! What would I do without you?" Xiaoyu started out the door, and looked down the hall just in time to see Jin disappear into the stairwell. Panda and she went straight to the elevator, to go to the lobby. "

I just hope Hwoarang is ready to fight me, 'cause I'm sure ready to take him out," she joked. "Now, for what to do now, we could always go eat some bread, and then go shopping. That will be soothing, and if I buy a lot, it will be good exercise too!"

Panda and she trotted through the hotel lobby as she said this, when Xiaoyu happened to glance over to the hotel bar. A flash of red hair caught her eye, and she paused. Looking at Panda, she moved closer to check it out.

Hwoarang was lying with his cheek pressed against the bar counter. He was apparently sound asleep, with a lot more than six beer bottles settled next to him. Xiaoyu tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hwoarang?" she said, tentatively nudging his shoulder. Hwoarang fell off of the bar stool and onto the floor, and Xiaoyu jumped and gasped.

_It looks like you won't have to take him out this afternoon,_ Panda grunted, nudging Hwoarang's shoulder.

Xiaoyu bent down slowly and whispered, "Is he dead?" She poked him, but he still didn't wake up.

"He's not dead, little missy," the bartender said lazily. "He passed out sometime after 11. I think it was 11:35 or so. Probably just drank too much. Should be okay, if you let him rest."

"Does everyone who gets drunk seem dead like this?" Xiaoyu wondered aloud.

"Naw, I guess he must just be a very heavy sleeper. But, uh, missy…"

Xiaoyu looked up at the bartender, who scratched the back of his neck briefly before leaning his elbows on the counter and whispering, "Your friend never did pay."

Hwoarang most certainly did not look ready to pay for anything. Xiaoyu sighed. "Could you go through his pockets really quickly, Panda?"

Panda grunted in affirmation, and then managed to procure a room key, motorcycle keys, and wallet containing only a driver's license with the name "Edwardo Gomez." Xiaoyu sighed.

"Alright, I'll pay for him for now." She looked at the bill, and almost instantly regretted it. That was a lot of yen. Fortunately, she had enough on her person to cover for it, but that meant no shopping spree this afternoon. She reluctantly dropped the money on the table, took the change, and looked back at Hwoarang.

"Now what, Panda?" she said softly. "We can't just leave him here. Especially if he wants to get any sort of rest this evening…"

Panda sighed. In her friendship with Xiaoyu, many sacrifices had been made. They were all sacrifices made with love, but Panda could not help but regret some of them. She had a slight feeling that this would be another one of those instances. She wrinkled her nose and started to lift him up.

Xiaoyu hooked her arms under Hwoarang's arms. "Oh Panda… I guess if you don't want to, I can get him on my own. He'll be my weight-lifting, instead of shopping bags!" Though she said this with optimism, she grunted under Hwoarang's weight. She managed to drag him outside of the bar, but at that point she was beginning to worry he'd get rug burn.

Panda was about to come and help when a voice in the back of the lobby piped up. "Xiaoyu?"  
Xiaoyu looked up. "Oh, Julia! I've never been so glad to see you!" she said brightly.

Julia walked over. She was wearing her shorts, boots, and feather from back at home rather than her professional lab coat. She looked several years younger that way, and Xiaoyu could finally believe they weren't that far apart in age.

"What in the world are you doing dragging this loser across the lobby?" Julia asked, wrinkling her nose at Hwoarang much in the same way Panda had.

"It's a long story. Would you be so kind as to give me a hand? I want to get him to his room," Xiaoyu said. She was a very effective pleader, and Julia almost instantly caved.

"Alright, I suppose. What room is he in?"

Xiaoyu froze. She hadn't thought to check.

Panda nudged her leg, and held his card key in her teeth. With a smile, Xiaoyu took it from her and read aloud, "Room 201."

"Oh God, that beast is just down the hall from me…." Julia muttered.

"What?" Xiaoyu asked sweetly, blissfully unaware.

"Oh, nothing," Julia said quickly. Looking for an escape from a potentially awkward conversation, she diverted the conversation to the issue at hand. "Alright, you get his arms; I'll get his feet, alright?"

"Right!"

The two girls lifted Hwoarang with much less. He was still out cold, peacefully swinging in between Julia and Xiaoyu. Since there were no rooms on the first floor, they had to take the elevator to get the "first floor," which had rooms. Panda pushed the button for them, and the people exiting the elevator gave them very strange looks.

After the elevator had cleared, Xiaoyu and Julia entered, dropping Hwoarang unceremoniously on the floor. Panda stepped over him, and settled between them. They started the elevator up.

As the doors closed, Julia began quietly, "Xiaoyu, why are you so good to him?"  
"Oh, I don't know. I guess because he's always been nice to me, and he hasn't done anything particularly mean," Xiaoyu answered.

Julia winced inside. She had been considering telling Xiaoyu about the conversation she had overheard from Hwoarang. Although she desperately did not want to be the messenger, it murdered her inside to know that Xiaoyu did not know about him. She finally said, "He's just using you, Xiao."

Xiaoyu didn't reply. She just looked at Julia imploringly.

"He's trying to use you to get information about Jin. He's not really your friend, he's just playing the game to settle a petty vendetta. You shouldn't treat him so well, Xiaoyu, because he's not being sincere to you." Even though she had it all off of her chest, Julia did not feel at all better saying it. She waited desperately for Xiaoyu to say something.

The elevator stopped. The door opened.

"Alright, I guess on to his room," Julia said quickly.

"I already knew that," Xiaoyu said finally.

"What?"

"Oh, I already knew that. I pretty much figured that was why he was talking to me in the first place, because I'm not pretty like Christie, or smart like you, or brave like Nina. The only thing I've got that you guys don't have is a connection to Jin. That's okay, Jin doesn't tell me anything anyway, so I was nice to him. I do kinda like him, he's a lot of fun, you know?"

The way Xiaoyu said all this was not in a sad, or mournful tone. She didn't sound offended, regretful, or bothered at all. She was so matter-of-fact that Julia almost thought she was kidding somehow. All she could do was gape. The elevator door closed.

"Oops…" both girls said at once. Panda pushed the button again.

"Grrrrmph…."


	17. Chapter 17: Deja Vu

**Chapter Seventeen: Deja Vu**

Hwoarang swerved daringly on his motorcycle, the vibrant colors of Shinjuku reduced to lines of light in the darkness around him. Cutting off a Honda, he flew onto the fly-over carelessly, his hair out of his face by his sunglasses, thick and black.

Suddenly, the buildings around him seemed to crumble, and fire flew from a window far away. The vibrant colors turned grey and brown, covering the world in dust save for the flames lapping around the corners of his vision.

That was when his headlights caught a shape- a broad, tall, firm shape with broad white wings. Sound ceased- all that was left was a pounding sound- was that his heart? He couldn't stop in time, and he knew it. Turning his bike and jumping off, it tore down the road and burst into flames.

Jin smiled- it was Jin, Hwoarang realized. But Jin like he'd never seen him, with broad wings, emitting that ethereal glow he had seen that night after the last King of the Iron Fist Tournament. Unphased by the destruction around him, Jin stepped forward, his black merciless eyes on Hwoarang and he said:

"Rain is coming down through the roof top, Rain is coming down and it won't stop"

It wasn't until the second time that the cell phone rang that Hwoarang woke up. The sound of his favorite Korean music idol's voice filled the room only for a brief moment of the verse, when the cheap ring tone recording stopped.

Hwoarang scrambled up, the icy chill lingering in his body as he looked around. That was a strange dream. Most of his dreams were about people he met or training, but this one- woah, this one was trippy. "I'm Coming" started playing again, however, the third time the phone rang, and Hwoarang had two consecutive epiphanies:

First, the Rain music video for "I'm Coming" was almost just like that, with a white-winged angel, dilapidated buildings, and a pulsing hip hop beat.

Second, the phone was ringing. He was supposed to answer it. It took a little too long for the second one to register in his mind, and he stared transfixed at the bright screen of his red Razor phone until it finally sank in. "Nina Williams." What could she want?

"Hello?" Hwoarang muttered, falling back into his pillows.

"Where are you," Nina hissed coldly.

"Wasted and with a hangover," he murmured, scarcely realizing that didn't entirely answer her question. The sudden but insistent pounding in his head abolished any thought that might entertain itself in the mind of Hwoarang.

"What?" Nina demanded.

"I had a few icky bon shit, or something like that..." he explained, starting to feel a little irritable.

"I thought you didn't drink that," Nina remarked cattily.

"Woah, Deja vu," the Korean murmured.

"Well, what a nice time to start, you missed our meeting," Nina snapped. He could hear her on the other side of the phone, drumming her fingers irritably against something, her red nails clicking like little knives.

"Oops... I hope it wasn't anything important," Hwoarang said. Unfortunately, he said it before realizing he just stuck his foot in his mouth. "I mean-"

"Yeah, sure, I UNDERSTAND," Nina growled sarcastically. "Here, I'm about to reschedule, be all kind and understanding, and there you are being a hung over binge drinker jackass. Fine, maybe it's NOT important, maybe I just won't reschedule."

"Look, do what you want to, I'll show up if you want me to," Hwoarang said, in a sad attempt to redeem himself.

Nina paused long enough for the fire of her anger to go through the satellite and be properly communicated to Hwoarang. "How about 2 in the morning, same place, garage. If you don't show up, I'm not waiting, I'm not calling, and I'm definitely not telling you what I need to tell you. I swear, you think you can trust a person, and then they go-"

"Two in the morning? Fine, fine, yeah, whatever... what's wrong with midnight, Babe?" he asked. Suddenly realizing he just called Nina a babe while she was mad, he tried to clear his throat and cough over it.

"I figured that since you have a match starting in, I don't know, five minutes ago, you might want some time to rest and recuperate before we meet," she said sweetly. The sour dripping from her voice, however, almost kept Hwoarang from understanding what she was driving at.

"What match five minutes ago? Is Xiao facing someone-" slowly, the revelation dawned on him. It had to force its way through the hangover, but it hit him a lot harder when it came. "I'm facing Xiaoyu today."

"Uh huh."

"And the match was scheduled for... five in the evening."

"Yeeeah."

"OH-" Hwoarang sprang to his feet, the sudden panic in his system giving him reason to get to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow morning," he said, scrambling, before clumsily hanging up his phone and dashing to his drawer. No time, no, no time to get dressed, he would just have to wear his jeans and wife-beater to the match today. Getting his sunglasses for the motorcycle ride, Hwoarang sped out of the door.

* * *

Xiaoyu stood nervously at her side of the arena. Gently turning her slippered foot on the ground, she straightened her pink dress at the bottom. Casting a look over her shoulder at Julia, who had come out for support, the two of them found themselves shrugging.

They had sworn up and down that they wouldn't invade Hwoarang's privacy more than necessary- digging in his pockets for wallets, card keys, and such, and then breaking into his room to drag him in there seemed like enough of an invasion of privacy as it was. Neither of them had counted on the fact Hwoarang could sleep until five in the evening. Seventeen hours of sleep, drunk or not, seemed a little excessive for any human being.

But now Xiaoyu was starting to second-guess herself. Could she inadvertently have destroyed her opponent's chances by not giving him a wakeup call? It was eleven after- the match would automatically end in a disqualification in four minutes. The poolside setting they were in suddenly seemed so much colder in spite of the sun. It just didn't seem fair.

Three minutes. The thin hand for the seconds on her watch mercilessly ticked onward, and the long hand pushed forward without a second thought. Two minutes. Would he make it? One minute, thirty seconds. Xiaoyu felt her heart dropping into her stomach. Then, Panda's ears perked up. Then, Julia and Xiaoyu heard it. The loud roar of a motorcycle was coming closer.

"He made it!" Xiaoyu cheered.

"Not officially, he hasn't," Julia said. She couldn't entirely share Xiaoyu's enthusiasm for the arrival of her opponent. Julia didn't share the same compassion and understanding for Hwoarang. "Do you mind if I leave before his tactlessness arrives?" Julia asked Xiaoyu kindly.

"Oh no, I don't mind, thank you for waiting this long, though!" Xiaoyu said with a smile. It occurred to Julia that her insult might not have computed for Xiaoyu, which was quite a relief in and of itself.

"Best of luck, of all people who I would be honored to see in this tournament, you're the best person here," Julia said encouragingly. Xiaoyu smiled and hugged her before Julia disappeared into the crowd.

Twenty seconds. Xiaoyu felt the nervousness return. Looking through the crowd, however, she found her nervousness was misplaced, for Hwoarang was pushing his way sloppily through the people. Ten seconds. Nine seconds. Hwoarang ducked under the rope with eight seconds to go, and the announcer appraised him disapprovingly.

"LING XIAOYU AND HWOARANG, ROUND ONE! FIGHT!" the announcer cried, before stepping quickly out of the ring.

There was a confused moment at the beginning of the match where Hwoarang honestly forgot what to do and Xiaoyu wasn't sure if she should take the first shot or not. The little dots had only just begun to disappear from his vision, so Hwoarang confusedly took a right hook towards Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu easily parried, and retaliated with a swift chop to the side. Watching her friend with concern, she realized very quickly that Hwoarang wasn't playing to speck- as a matter of fact, she had never seen him fight so badly.

"Excuse me," she said, sliding next to the ropes towards the announcer. Hwoarang followed her and tried to throw a kick, but his feet slipped out from underneath himself. "Do you think we could reschedule, or take a breathing break or something?" she asked politely.

"Look Miss, this competition is operating on a tight time schedule. Heihachi had specifics about when he wanted the last match, something about the moon being full on the last night, or something paranoid like that... I don't think we can do that."

Hwoarang stood up awkwardly, feeling embarrassed and humiliated, as well as the horrible pain in his head. He took a moment to wait while Xiaoyu was talking to orient himself, gradually remembering the coordination he needed in order to fight. He spotted Baek towards the ropes and he ran over to him.

"Baek?" he asked frantically. "How do you fight when you're hung over?"

Baek gave him a frustrated and disapproving look. "Like you're not hung over," he answered bitterly. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a couple of Advil. "Here, take this dry- whatever you do, don't let that hangover of yours interrupt any more than necessary. You could've taken her out easily without it- hopefully, it'll just be a slightly more difficult."

Hwoarang obeyed, choking down the pills quickly and hopping to the center of the ring. Xiaoyu, finished arguing with the announcer, resigned herself and returned to the center as well.

"Good luck," she said with an encouraging smile.

"You too!" Hwoarang said. Quickly, he planted a kick on the side of the shoulder. Xiaoyu stumbled back, surprised, and Hwoarang stretched his neck. If cheap shots were his only way out, then he'd take whatever he could get to get out of there the victor.

Bouncing from foot to foot, Hwoarang moved closer to Xiaoyu, who was reorienting herself from the surprise. Quickly, with that unnaturally fast way of kicking, Hwoarang pushed forward and landed three kicks with the right foot and two with the left. Xiaoyu fell down, but rolled quickly to the side and sprang up to her feet.

_What to do,_ Xiaoyu thought quickly, feeling a slight sensation of panic entering her system. She could tell already that his already foolhardy judgment was even more questionable than normal, but at the moment it seemed to be working in his favor. Frantically parrying away from another array of kicks, Xiaoyu attempted to send a karate chop to his side. Hwoarang simply readjusted his leg, bringing it around and hitting Xiaoyu hard on the shoulder from above.

Xiaoyu hit the ground hard, her hands catching the grain of the concrete. She could feel them stinging from the blood.

"ONE!" the announcer called.

She hadn't realized that being on her hands and knees like this counted against her!

"TWO!"

Xiaoyu scrambled to her feet, only to be met again on the shoulder with Hwoarang's foot.

"THREE!"

Frustrated, she attempted to roll to one side to try and get up.

"FOUR!" It seemed to work; she was almost in her crouching position when she felt a driving force in the center of her chest sending her backwards and onto her back.

"FIVE!"

Hwoarang gave Xiaoyu an apologetic but brutal smile, almost as if he were saying "Sorry, it's not my fault you're too weak to get up."

"SIX!"Xiaoyu was floored. She hadn't expected a friend to play so dirty.

"SEVEN!"

Again Xiaoyu tried to push Hwoarang back, take a chance to get back on her feet and at least restart the count, keep her chances.

"EIGHT. NINE."

Each count seemed to coincide with Hwoarang kicking her mercilessly back to the ground, each time met with an aching pain double the first time.

"TEN. ROUND ONE, HWOARANG!" the announcer crowed.

Finally taking the interim to stagger to her feet, Xiaoyu held a hand to her head. She was feeling inexplicably dizzy from her attempts to regain her footing.

"Now you know how I feel," Hwoarang said with a short laugh. Was he mocking her? Or encouraging her? Xiaoyu wasn't sure, but she felt an unfamiliar sensation crawling through her very bones- anger.

Panda growled loudly at the announcer on the sidelines. A few members of the audience cried out "That's not fair!" Deja vu; only a few moments ago Xiaoyu had been saying that to the announcer, trying to help Hwoarang out. The embarrassment wasn't the only red-hot sensation she felt, however.

_You can beat him, _Panda communicated to Xiaoyu.

"Well, yeah, but he's playing so dirty, I can't even get up!" Xiaoyu complained. She hadn't complained for a while- it seemed somewhat overrated, since she didn't feel any better.

_You can still beat him. He can't keep you down there forever. In the meantime, do all that you can to stay on your feet,_ Panda encouraged.

Xiaoyu smiled weakly, reaching through the ropes to rub the coarse white fur on her friend's head. It wouldn't be as easy as it sounded, and she knew it. After taking all those blows, her body wasn't quit as prepared to take a pounding as it had a few minutes ago. Still, the idea had some very strong merits.

Hwoarang was back in the center, and Xiaoyu returned herself. "Good luck," Hwoarang said.

"You too," Xiaoyu said, forced.

"HWOARANG AND LING XIAOYU, ROUND TWO! FIGHT!"

Xiaoyu did not hesitate. Seeing his left leg swinging up over her head, she ducked to the ground and rising quickly, bringing her momentum with her, she caught him under his thigh and made him stumble. He recovered, catching her on the side of the face with three quick punches.

Falling onto the defensive, Xiaoyu circled around him, and evasively ducking to one side she swung back and slammed into him with all the force she had. He fell to the ground, but pushed back to his feet with his hands, hitting her with his feet before landing.

Stumbling, but staying on her feet, Xiaoyu and Hwoarang met each others' eyes. It was even, as of this moment. She would have to find a way to overwhelm him, or else there was no way she could win. He seemed to be thinking the same thing. She saw his leg tense, and he leapt closer with his leg extended. Xiaoyu rolled right underneath him, and with her back to him she brought out a kick of her own. Sending him right into the air, she whirled around and slammed him to the ground with her palms.

"ONE!"

Hwoarang sat up, rubbing his head with a look of confusion covering his face.

"TWO!"

Hwoarang looked at the announcer, with an expression of "Why is he shouting?"

"THREE!"

Realizing his predicament, Hwoarang stumbled to try and get to his feet. Xiaoyu offered him a hand, and instinctively, he took it. Big mistake. Xiaoyu threw him over and slammed the side of her palm into his back. He fell face first into the concrete, and the count started again.

"ROUND TWO, XIAOYU!" the announcer finally announced.

As Hwoarang made it to his feet, he met Xiaoyu's eyes and saw something in them he couldn't recognize. "Baek," he murmured, coming to the ropes and rubbing his head. "That was unexpected."

"You really ought to be more prepared to be caught off guard by women. You know, expect the unexpected, that sort of thing," Baek said with a sardonic smile.

"But wouldn't expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?" Hwoarang asked.

Baek mulled it over in his head. Finding no explanation, he said "See, you're not completely hopeless, you can still have conscious thought and do complex functions. Just pretend you know that out in the ring, and you won't even have to worry about being sent to the floor by a little Chinese girl."

"Ugh," Hwoarang moaned. Turning around and seeing Xiaoyu planted firmly in the center, he caught the residue of a slight heat coming from her. He finally recognized it- it was the same flame Nina had sent against him, mere minutes earlier. She was pissed. Coming to the center of the circle, he said "It's nice to be able to fight with a friend and still be friends afterwards, isn't it?"

"If you survive," Xiaoyu muttered. She must have read the shock on Hwoarang's face, and she amended herself, saying "Yes, especially since friends always fight fair, and you don't have to worry about them _stabbing_ you in the back."

_Uh oh,_ Hwoarang thought. She was more pissed than he thought.

"LING XIAOYU AND HWOARANG ROUND THREE! FIGHT!" came the voice of the announcer.

Both sides instantly sprung into action. Hwoarang felt his fastest reflexes come to life in the wake of an actual threat, and Xiaoyu found herself caught up in the adrenaline of her anger. Focusing her anger, she lunged towards him with three powerful hits with her arms.

Only the last one grazed Hwoarang. He retaliated with his quickest kicks, but she dodged to the side and only the last one even touched her. Both parties made eye contact, causing a moment of hesitation- followed quickly by an explosion of action. Xiaoyu launched into a chain maneuver, dropping down low and hitting for his legs, before leaping up as daintily as a dancer to try and land a hit on the side of his face. He shifted position and kicked right left right at his Chinese opponent, but neither side found any of their skillful maneuvers making contact.

Hwoarang, frustrated, went for a power kick, which he landed- right in the middle of Xiaoyu's chest. She flew back, hitting the ground with a painful thud.

"ONE!"

"Deja vu," Xiaoyu murmured.

"TWO!"

She saw Hwoarang tense at the slightest motions that she did. He was just waiting to send her back down.

"THREE!"

A plan began to form in the back of Xiaoyu's mind.

"FOUR!"Rolling back away from Hwoarang, the instant her feet hit the pavement she threw herself to the side of her adversary. Hwoarang tried to land a kick on her back as she rolled past, but he only connected with the pavement. Xiaoyu sprang to her feet, and once again she kicked Hwoarang as hard as she could behind herself.

Hwoarang lost his footing, and feeling a moment of confusion, he tried to roll and regain control of himself, but he found it interrupted again as Xiaoyu bright on her hand up onto his back. All he could feel was pain as one, two, three, four, five more hits connected. By the time he hit the ground he was hurting in more places than he realized could get hurt in the span of a few seconds.

"ROUND THREE, LING XIAOYU!" was the last thing he heard before he passed out on the pavement.


	18. Chapter 18: Some Emotional Thing

**Chapter Eighteen: Some Emotional Thing**

"Hello?"

"XIAOYU?"

"MIHARU!"

Xiaoyu rolled over onto her back on her hotel bed. She had been stretching, and allowing her ribs to heal themselves and stop aching. Fortunately, the medics had given her Vicaden. Unfortunately, she found herself a little strange on Vicaden.

"How are you?" Miharu asked over the cell phone.

"Eh, I've been better, I've also been worse," Xiaoyu said optimistically.

"I saw your last fight on TV, Xiaoyu! You were on TV!" Miharu raved. "You're like, a movie star or something now!""What channel?" Xiaoyu asked.

"I don't know, it was some sports channel, I don't normally watch those anyway," Miharu said dismissively.

Xiaoyu wasn't about to correct her friend and tell her that she wasn't a movie star. She just laughed. "That's really cool... I've never been on TV before."

"What do you sound so sad for," Miharu chided. "You totally destroyed that guy you were fighting! Mr. whore-wrong or something... He was cute though." When Miharu heard her friend sighing deeply on the other end of the phone, she couldn't keep from prying. "What is it? You don't sound very happy over there..."

"I'm happy," Xiaoyu said quickly. "I'm especially happy that you called. I don't know... I didn't like that match very much." The admission was something new even to Xiaoyu- she hadn't managed to go over the events earlier that evening in her own head.

"Yeah, well, he fought dirty, he didn't seem nice at all. Some jerk out for glory, I'll bet, so I wouldn't feel too bad for totally destroying him," Miharu said encouragingly.

"That's just it, he's a friend of mine," Xiaoyu said, feeling a touch of irritation in her voice. She shut it off as quickly as she could. First, anger, then, irritation. What next? Was she becoming a terrible person while her own back was turned? Miharu heard the irritation, and paused. "Well, it's finally happened, Xiao," she said. "I think you've fallen for someone."

"What? What in the world are you talking about?" Xiaoyu raved. "The only falling I did was when he kicked me to the pavement over and over, I didn't fall for him at all, I don't love him I don't even like him!" Her little rant suddenly brought to the surface something that was bothering her, somewhere in the back of her mind. "I mean, that really... really hurt," she added at the end.

"Oh man, you've got it bad," Miharu said. She sighed, and there was a moment of silence. "Look, Xiaoyu, I can't pretend I completely understand you. I mean, any girl who is as nice as you but spends most of her time practicing the art of hurting people just doesn't make sense to me. But I've known you for a long time, Xiaoyu, and nobody else has gotten under your skin like that."

"How is this news a good thing?" Xiaoyu moaned. "I don't like people being under my skin, especially not _parasites._"

"Oh man, you're really mad... what happened?"

Xiaoyu spilled it all. She told her about the motorcycle ride, the conversations, training sessions, and the incident in the basement with Jin. Moving on, she told Miharu about all that she did to help Hwoarang the night before and at the match, and how he repaid her with his decidedly unfriendly pounding. By the end, she'd started crying.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the basement, Hwoarang was taking his last chance to take advantage of that moment to take out his frustrations on the nearby punching bag. "Something is on your mind," Baek observed, circling around Hwoarang and his punching bag.

"Aside from having _LOST_," Hwoarang raved, hitting the bag with all the force he could muster. The bag swung, and retaliated, sending Hwoarang sprawling on the floor.

"You're distracted," Baek added.

"By losing," Hwoarang muttered miserably. He jumped back up to his feet. His head had only begun to clear by now, but he could feel so perfectly the sting of his loss.

"I think you've fallen," Baek finished.

"What? Well, keen observation, Sherlock! I just got smacked by a giant punching bag, of course I've fallen, why would you..." the reason why Baek made that remark became apparent, however. "I haven't fallen for anyone, the only time I fell was when she pounded me and my dreams into the pavement! Completely out of nowhere, she just turned on me like that! Some friend."

"Oh man, you've got it bad," Baek said, not wincing at all under the flames of Hwoarang's glare. "Look, I've known you for a long time. I practically raised you. I can't pretend to understand you, but the only other one to get under your skin like that has been Jin. You've never been this affected."

"And I definitely haven't 'fallen for' Jin, so why don't you believe me?" Hwoarang snapped defensively. "She's just a friend..." Sitting down on the bench, he reminded Baek of the motorcycle ride, the conversations, training sessions, and the incident in the basement with Jin. Moving on, he told Baek about how he had been trying to drink away his guilt for using her, and how she repaid him by pounding him into the pavement. By the end, he found himself more frustrated than he began.

* * *

"Look," Miharu said. "You're just going to have to be honest with yourself. I mean, the only thing that could get you that moody is love!"

Back up in Xiaoyu's room, she rolled over and made a frustrated noise, snorting through her tears. "I know you're not going to believe me, Miharu, but I don't love him. Please, turn the romantic story weaving off for a minute, okay?"

Miharu paused thoughtfully for Xiaoyu to continue. Now that she was listening, Xiaoyu wasn't entirely sure what she had intended to say. "If you love someone, isn't that someone supposed to make you a better person? Isn't your heart supposed to flutter whenever he's around? Aren't you supposed to look forward to each time you see him?"

"Well, yeah," Miharu replied.

"Then it's not love, because that's what Jin is to me, and that's everything that Hwoarang isn't..."With a short laugh, Miharu responded, "Well, the only other alternative is that you hate him."

"Miharu, you're a genius!!" Xiaoyu exclaimed.

"What, I didn't mean it, I was being sarcastic-" Miharu pleaded.

"He's so mean and crude and all that, I really don't like being around him. He always brings out the worst in me! I really, truly, sincerely hate his guts sometimes! It's like being a punching bag, you know, where I swing back every time only to get hurt again. I absolutely can't stand him."

"Be careful, Xiao, that you don't do anything you'll regret..." Miharu warned.

* * *

Back in the basement, Baek sat down across from Hwoarang as he finished his sordid story. "Look, Hwoarang, I know this is hard for you, but you're going to have to learn to be honest with yourself. You can lie and cheat to everyone else around you, but lying to yourself is just bad form."

"Is this going to be one of those things were I say 'I don't love her,' and you're going to smile a conceited, knowing smile, totally not believing me even though it's the god's honest truth?"

Baek smiled with a short laugh, mulling over the credibility of what Hwoarang said. "Perhaps.""Fine, I'll skip a few steps..." Hwoarang muttered. "I don't love her- I just don't want to hurt her." After a pause, he added somewhat miserably, "And I think I did..."

"And why don't you want to hurt her?" Baek pressed.

"Well, because I l-" Hwoarang paused. Baek smiled a conceited, knowing smile. "Oh damn," Hwoarang muttered. "It all makes sense... why I seem so inexplicably drawn to her, that I keep coming back... it's not 'business,' I'm totally crazy about her!"

"Just don't take that knowledge and do something you'll regret, alright?" Baek said, ruffling Hwoarang's hair and tying up a speed bag. "Now, pound your troubles away!"

_

* * *

_, Heihachi mused quietly. He hadn't expected the girl to win. As a matter of fact, there was a part of him hoping that red-headed monster would get his revenge on Jin. He couldn't think of anything else better to bring out the demon inside of him, other than a good, obnoxious pounding from an old nemesis. 

But he hadn't expected things to fall into place so easily. The odds that mere hours after her phone was tapped, the girl would give away some deliciously despicable information was unheard of; albeit, convenient.

_"If you love someone, isn't that someone supposed to make you a better person? Isn't your heart supposed to flutter whenever he's around? Aren't you supposed to look forward to each time you see him?"_

_"Well, yeah," Miharu replied._

_"Then it's not love, because that's what Jin is to me, and that's everything that Hwoarang isn't..."_

Heihachi finally knew another perfect place to plant a camera. Who knows? Maybe Jin had enough of a heart in him after all. And if he did, Heihachi wanted to do whatever he could to exploit it. In the name of science, of course. Chuckling to himself, Heihachi welcomed the flood of ideas for the eradication and utilization of that pesky boy.

* * *

"Alright, I'm going to tell him exactly how I feel," Xiaoyu told herself, bristling up her shoulders. "See if I can get him to listen, and he probably feels the same way, so we'll just split our friendship peaceably."

"Alright, I'm going to tell her exactly how I feel," Hwoarang told himself, mentally preparing himself. "See if she'll listen. I mean, she probably feels the same way, so she'll be eager to get together."

Walking down into the Lobby, the two made eye contact. Xiaoyu waved at Hwoarang, and he waved back, and the two of them passed each other.

_Even if he used me, he was always so fun and nice,_ Xiaoyu thought, getting cold-feet.

_I mean, even if we had a good time, she still beat out my pride,_ Hwoarang thought, chickening out.

_And what about Jin?_ The two came to the same thought at the same time. Xiaoyu looked over her shoulder, and saw that Hwoarang and stopped to watch her as well. The two of them paused, composing themselves before walking over to each other.

"Hi," Xiaoyu said awkwardly.

"Yeah," Hwoarang responded awkwardly.

"Look, I need to tell you-"

"I know."

"It's kind of hard to say-"

"Yeah"

"-When you keep interrupting me."

The two of them laughed, feeling the weird atmosphere. For a moment, neither of them said anything, trying to read what little information had been given away from that completely useless and ceremonial exchange.

"Alright then," Hwoarang said nervously. "Go ahead and say it."

"It's..." Xiaoyu sighed, and smiled up at him sheepishly. "It's a little hard to describe, like all emotional things."

"Oh, don't worry, I understand," Hwoarang interjected.

"You do?" Xiaoyu said gratefully.

"Yeah, and don't worry, I feel the same way."

"You do?" Xiaoyu said hopefully.

"Yeah," Hwoarang said, relieved.

"Oh, good," Xiaoyu said finally.

"I'm glad we agree," Hwoarang finished.

He reached out and gave her a hug, and she paused, feeling a weird sensation. "Wait a second," she hesitantly began, trying to think of some way to say this without reducing the conversation to awkward shatters. "Do you... really understand?"

Suddenly afraid, Hwoarang said "I hope so..."

"Let's... just talk later," Xiaoyu said quickly, looking for an opportunity to escape.

"Yeah, good idea," he said, needing a moment to digest what happened. The two of them split up, and casting strange glances at the other, they both managed to come to the same conclusion at once:"This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

* * *

Jin's room. The sanctuary for the fallen angel was just like a sanctuary at night: completely empty, dark, and unnerving. The moonlight spilled in from the open curtains. Nothing was on the bed. Nothing at all. The sentry, who had been taking a moment to relieve himself, entered in to find that the bag had just up and disappeared. Not only that, but the video under review seemed to be missing those few moments- according to that video, the sentry was only gone for a few moments.

The Tekken Force was going nuts. Official men in official clothes were shouting angrily at each other, trying to shift the official blame and save their own skins in the process. The underlings valiantly fought for their innocence as well, trying to conjure up evidence, or even just get coffee for their superiors, to prove their loyalty and service.

Heads would roll. Jobs would be taken, and losing a job with the Tekken Force was equivocal to losing one's life- their identity, credibility, and integrity would go up in smoke.

Jin, of course, cared nothing about this. Curled up in the mechanical closet of the Tekken Force surveillance room, he absolutely thrived on switching the tapes and watching the reactions of Tekken Force members. It was almost as entertaining as watching TV had been as a kid. At the moment, he was preparing to execute one of his most daring and amusing heists yet.

Heihachi was finally clever enough to put up a camera in Xiaoyu's room. Unfortunately, he was not clever enough to think that he might be the first person to think of this. Jin had taken the chance to video tape a day or two in the day of the life of Ling Xiaoyu's hotel room, just in case anything like this should happen.

And it was all so easy. All he had to do was reroute the camera feed from the highly secure mainframe of the Surveillance room onto an untraceable outside mainframe to override the video image on the TV's in the surveillance room. Alright, so maybe it wasn't that easy, but Jin had picked up a few tricks from his paranoid years as a hermit in Australia. Carefully completing the rerouting and booting up his laptop, Jin watched with delight a video of Xiaoyu sleeping like a baby two days before Jin had dropped by to visit her.

This trick on Heihachi was like dangling candy in front of a very old, ugly baby.


	19. Chapter 19: Something Very Important

**Chapter Nineteen: Something Very Important**

There wasn't a part of Xiaoyu that was surprised to see Jin appear at her window again. As a matter of fact, she was almost expecting it, and was let down when he hadn't shown up by midnight.

But there he was, cocky as ever, watching the moon as if he had been there all night on her balcony, not even trying to get her attention. The stars seemed to have him occupied even when she opened the door and walked out beside him again. She looked up, trying to see what he saw far away in the celestial glitter.

"Is your room still not safe?" she asked, concerned.

"No." He didn't shift or change position, just kept watching something far away. Still, she could tell that there was something different about him. A sort of sparkle that didn't come from the neon lights outside.

"...Jin, are you smiling?" she asked, laughing imploringly.

Jin laughed briefly, before he caught himself. "Oh yes, I was just... reflecting," he mused.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Xiaoyu asked with a smile. "I could use a nice reflection right now." Jin didn't answer. He just looked at Xiaoyu imploringly. His eyebrows curled up in curiosity, the deep brown eyes watching her from under his gently blowing hair- Xiaoyu collected herself. "I just had a really bad day, that's all. Some... friend issues, I guess." She smiled dismissively. It seemed that her excuse worked, because Jin smiled back at her and she felt herself blush.

"What a strange person," he observed, as though he were looking through a microscope at a particularly interesting specimen. His voice sounded nothing but scientific, but his eyes seemed so much more interested.

"Thanks?" Xiaoyu asked with a nervous giggle.

"For you, it's a good thing," Jin clarified. He broke eye contact, much to Xiaoyu's disappointment, and opened the door into her room. "You're the kind of person who goes through her life perfectly passive, unfettered by introspective questions on the nature of humanity and such..." He turned around and faced Xiaoyu as she walked in behind him. "And yet, you change the lives of everyone around you, completely oblivious."

Xiaoyu had been pulling out her pigtails as he said this, and she felt herself blush brilliant red as he said that. "Aw, shucks, that's awfully sweet," she said, bopping him on the shoulder. "I well, gee, I don't know what to say..."  
"You don't believe me, do you," Jin remarked.

"Honestly? No..." Xiaoyu admitted with a smile. She sat down on her bed looking at herself in the mirror. Nope. Still the same, normal Xiaoyu face, no one particularly beautiful or interesting.

"Did you know how mirrors reflect things the opposite of how we see it?" Jin began idly. Xiaoyu looked at him imploringly. "For example, when I pick up my left hand, in the mirror it looks like I'm lifting my right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm always putting up the other ponytail when I get ready in the morning!" Xiaoyu exclaimed.

"I don't have _that_ particular problem, but I figure that's why you don't think very highly of yourself. You only see yourself as the opposite of what you are," Jin explained.

"... I love it when people say things like that," Xiaoyu said with a smile. "So smart!"

"I admit, that's some of my mom's genius," he replied. He looked over at Xiaoyu sitting next to him, smiling up at him. He felt his wall come up, in an instant. She was so pure, too pure; she had no business with someone like him. Still, stealing one kiss wouldn't hurt anyone...

A fervent knocking came at the door. Both Xiaoyu and Jin looked, and in an instant Jin had disappeared to the balcony. Xiaoyu closed the curtain behind him, and walked over to the door.

"Uh, hi," Hwoarang said, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh- your hair is down."

"You came all the way up here to tell me that?" Xiaoyu teased with a smile. "What's up?"

"Can I come in?" Hwoarang asked.

"No." She paused, surprised at how suspiciously fast the answer had come.

"Uh, why not?" he asked awkwardly.

"I... forgot. Panda?" she called over her shoulder. "Why aren't we allowed to have guests again"

Panda lifted her head lazily and grunted _Just let me go back to sleep..._

"Oh right! You're sick," Xiaoyu said, completely putting words in the panda's mouth. "I'm sorry, but you definitely don't want to be here when she's sick." Pausing, Xiaoyu continued as if to pre-empt Hwoarang "and I definitely can't leave, that would be a terrible thing to do!"

"Of course," Hwoarang said. "Well, the barkeeper said you paid my tab, so I owe you some money..." Digging in his wallet, which had been recently stuffed from a "client" Hwoarang had found and beat down in the streets of Shinjuku. "Thanks for like, uh, paying."

"No problem," Xiaoyu lied. She wasn't going to mention her botched shopping spree- it seemed a little mean in the light of Hwoarang's moment of kindness. "Thank you for paying me back."

"Yeah, well, I was just coming by also to let you know I'm not leaving just yet. I still have some unfinished business to take care of here."

"Oh, yeah, you haven't tried to beat up Jin yet," she said, more to herself than to Hwoarang. "I guess I'll be seeing you."

"I guess," he replied. The awkward atmosphere was very uncomfortable for both of them. Hwoarang quickly covered up his lame dialogue with a snazzy wave of his hand, saying "Stay beautiful."

"I'll try!" Xiaoyu said with a smile, closing the door. Her smile dropped sometime after that. That was a pretty silly way to reply to that. Smoothing her hair self-consciously, she opened up the balcony. "Sorry to leave you out here so long, it was-" she stopped. Jin wasn't there. She looked up. She looked down. No Jin splats on the pavement, he must have exited somehow.

"And he says I'm hard to understand," Xiaoyu muttered. She closed her window but left her curtains open, lying back and propping her head up on Panda as a pillow. _Something tells me... I'm missing something very important..._

* * *

Hwoarang dismounted his motorcycle swiftly, walking it through the garage. Two in the morning. The last few remnants of the posh dinner crew had drifted in and the last partiers had drifted out, so the parking lot was completely empty. At least, that was the impression Hwoarang had. He was hoping that someone was down here, however- it would be pretty awkward to come to a late night meeting and have no one come.

"Well well well, what have we here," a deep male voice said from behind Hwoarang.

Rolling his shoulders and preparing his best cocky eyebrow, Hwoarang turned and performed his magic, "One helluva fox," Hwoarang answered. The light from the headlights was facing the wrong direction, and all Hwoarang saw was a shadow. But he knew that shadow all too well.

"One defeated fox," Jin taunted. He tightened the wrappings around his wrist pads, his own eyebrows caught a permanent, condescending curve. Walking forward with powerful grace, the light gradually caught his face. "Crawling back into your hole already, I see."

Hwoarang was stung in the worst of ways by Jin's cold voice- for Jin's insults didn't hurt his pride, no- they provoked the fervid flame buried deep in him: hate. "Nah, I don't run- I'm not a coward, I don't disappear to the farthest corner of the world whenever I lose."  
Apparently, Hwoarang's reference to Jin's disappearance struck something of a cord. The edge of Jin's mouth twitched.

"Excuse me for _interrupting,_" a third, sharper voice interjected. Hwoarang turned around, and saw Nina bathed in the light from his headlights, her blonde hair glowing and her eyes shining like a sharpened dagger. "When I extended the invitation, I didn't mean for you to bring a guest."

"I can't help it if the garage has _rats_," Hwoarang spit, glaring over his shoulder at Jin.

"Look, you have no place here in my revenge," Nina snapped.

"YOUR revenge, what about MY revenge?" Hwoarang snapped back, jerking his thumb towards Jin.

"I have a much more personal vendetta to settle with you," Jin hissed accusingly.

"What, so you're interrupting my vengeance for your vendetta?" Nina yelled at Jin, turning her wrath again from Hwoarang.

"I have no intention of letting this dirty... _fox_" Jin spat the word "scavenge anything important from me."

Giving Jin a strange look, he pivoted around to face his rival. "What the hell are you talking about?" The eyebrow Jin arched and the deep, steady way his eyes met Hwoarang's said all they needed to. "She's not yours," Hwoarang snapped.

"Oh god, don't tell me this is about a girl," Nina groaned.

"Of course it is, you invited me here! You're a girl!" Hwoarang retaliated.

"Don't even start with me, Don Juan, just when you think you can trust a guy and he turns towards the first skirt with pigtails and a freakin' pet panda!" Nina angrily said.

"I didn't realize you had so many friends," a fourth voice said sarcastically. "AT READY!"

The three fighters whirled around to see Corporal Pak, flanked in soldiers, approaching. Looking at one another accusingly, each of them seemed to be thinking the same thing: "How didn't I notice an army down here?"

"We took the stairs," Corporal Pak answered the unasked question snidely. It took a moment for the sarcasm to register in the statement. What easily could have turned into an episode of "Days of Our Lives: Fighter Edition" had taken a sudden turn for "Saving Private Ryan," and none of the tournament participants was happy about it.

"We're taking you into our custody, Lieutenant Doo-San," Corporal Pak said formally. "You will be at the mercy of our beloved Korean Army which you shamelessly disgraced."

"We can't let them take him," Nina said to Jin. "Then we'll never get our revenge!"

"I don't know, this serves my purposes very well," Jin replied, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't serve MY purposes," she snapped. "I brought him down here to tell him I loved him-!"

"WHAT?" Hwoarang asked suddenly, diverting his attention from the line of machine guns. "I don't love you, I love Xiaoyu-!" he exclaimed without shaking.

"I don't love you anymore, JERK!"

"Xiaoyu doesn't love you anyway, she loves me!" Jin growled.

"Yeah right, like you know," Hwoarang remarked cattily.

"That's what she said when we were in her room just a few minutes ago," Jin said, slightly insinuatingly.

"You goddamn ba-" Hwoarang started. Before he could finish, he heard the clicks of guns as a dozen or so Korean troops had their guns at ready on him.

"Say a nice goodbye to your whore and that son of a whore," Corporal Pak answered. "We will take you back to Korea- dead or alive."

"Oh he didn't just say that," Nina whispered, anger emanating from her like the glow of the motorcycle headlights.

"Oh yes he did," Jin hissed, hidden mostly in the shadow left from the light.

That was about when the gunfire started.

The rattling of the bullets tearing through the air awoke the reflexes of the three fighters, and Jin, Hwoarang and Nina leapt behind their nearest cover. The sound of the lead tearing through the expensive steel exteriors of the cars rattled in the three fighters ears.

"We have two options," Nina called over the gunfire to her temporary comrades. "We can totally destroy each and every one of them..."  
"I like that," Jin replied.

"Or we can get the hell out of here," she continued.

"I like that one," Hwoarang said wryly.

"Yeah, me too," Nina agreed. She had sized up the group and their resources, and even a trained assassin like herself knew when the odds were stacked too heavily against her. The only way she could pick them off would be some sort of distraction.

"Just run from cover to cover," Hwoarang said hastily. "It's the easiest way." When he looked at Jin, however, he noticed that Jin was shaking. Hard. There was something strange in his eyes, and if Hwoarang didn't know his rival better, he would have thought it was fear. Could it be? "Kazama, shake it off, we can't have you losing courage here," he shouted, an actual trace of genuine concern tainting the edges of his voice.

But Jin wasn't afraid. At least, not of the sound of bullets quaking the car he was using as cover. The shattered bits of glass and the army with their guns didn't scare him half as much as what could happen in a few minutes. How could he have been so careless?

"Do you need a diversion?" Jin stammered to Nina. "Would you be able to use that?"

Nina nodded, removing her pistol and cocking it. The soldiers were running closer, the three of them could hear their footsteps approaching. Jin just nodded, and he sprang to his feet, planting his fist in the middle of the front bumper of the car. With unnatural speed the car shot towards the soldiers, and a yelp of surprise was heard over the tires. Jin didn't hesitate; he dove behind the next car just as Hwoarang managed to clear it, and did the exact same thing.

Nina and Hwoarang couldn't help but stare, but they were brought back to their senses when Jin pushed them forward. They ran, ducked down behind the cars, just as the emergency security system began going off. Flooded in blood red light, Hwoarang came to a disgusting realization.

"They're sealing the doors, it's a lock down," he stammered.

"Is the opening for the cars still open?" Nina asked, keeping rational.

The troops were beginning to reform their ranks as they spoke, and the sound of voices searching behind and inside of cars could be heard.

"They shut that entrance with titanium," Jin explained. "Heihachi's paranoia knows no scientific limits- there's no way we're getting out that way with the maximum coverage. Elevators stop, the shafts are heavily guarded. I guess we'll have to take the stairs."

What's in the stairs," Nina asked realistically.

"Deadbolts, and the Tekken Force," Jin explained.

"Oh great. That's so much better. We won't even be able to get the door open-" Hwoarang began. He couldn't finish his sentence, because Jin and Nina had continued around the garage towards the stairs. Catching up as swiftly as he could, no more words were exchanged until they reached the stair-case.

"In case of fire, use stairs!" the friendly sign announced with a cheap diagram of a stick figure man and cartoon flames. Nina tried the door, pulling it and slamming it. The Korean force had heard the noise, and were starting in that direction.

"Great," she muttered amidst a sea of curse words. "Now we're really screwed."

Jin didn't seem so concerned- with one swift strike of his foot, the door blew off of its hinges, dead bolt and all. Hwoarang didn't bother to hide the shock from his face. "Ladies first," Jin said cordially.

Nina nodded, giving him an appraising look before dashing into the stairwell. Hwoarang came next, and when he met Jin's eyes he couldn't help but think that there was something strange about them: he could have sworn Jin's irises were yellow. The gunfire behind him, however, brought an end to the examination and Jin propped the door up in the frame and leaning against it. He was shaking again, harder this time.

"Oh come on, don't go epileptic on us now," Hwoarang moaned, looking up the stairs.

Nina took one look at the door. "That won't hold, they'll be through that unhinged steel in a matter of moments."  
Jin's body was absolutely quaking now. Hwoarang knelt over into his face. "Come on, man, come to your senses!"  
"Move him off of the door," Nina said quickly.

Hwoarang complied, and continued trying to bring Jin too. "Calm down, calm down, this isn't the time for a freak out!" Jin snorted at him defiantly. Hwoarang did the only thing that made sense at the time- he slapped Jin across the face. Jin growled gutturally and sprang to his feet, and narrowed his eyes at Hwoarang.

"Alright, that ought to hold them for a little while," Nina said finally. The two men looked over at her handiwork. It didn't look particularly impressive- two small bungee cords with hooks keeping the door from falling back- and an electric taser with the electric current on the steel.

"Simple and sweet, I like it," Hwoarang complimented Nina.

A dull banging sound could be heard from far away. At first, the trio ignored it- they were more concerned with the people rushing towards the bottom of the staircase with their machine guns. However, when the banging began to overwhelm the emergency siren and sounds up upcoming footsteps, Nina started to get worried.

"Tekken Force," Jin said huskily, his voice tainted with a darker tone than normal.

"We've got to move," Nina said quickly.

"Wait, what floor are we going to?" Hwoarang demanded as she bounded up the stairs.

"The second one," Jin said brusquely. Neither Nina nor Hwoarang questioned that at the moment. They ran up the flight of stairs in their way, listening to the oncoming footsteps from above come closer. Nina couldn't help but get a slight feeling of satisfaction when she heard an electric pop ring from beneath them. They came to the door to the second story.

"Automatic deadbolts," Nina said quickly as Hwoarang fussed with the door trying to open it.

"Jin, work your magic," Hwoarang muttered, stepping aside.

Jin looked up- he had had his arms hugged closely around his chest up until then. Taking back his fist and preparing, he hit the door as he had hit the one before it. This one flew off of its hinges and into the hallway, and the trio were met by a slightly bewildered janitor.

Striding out of the stairwell, Jin leading the way, they headed towards the far end of the hallway. Nina whipped out a piece of cloth and covered the janitor's mouth, and she fell into the laundry basket lifelessly.

"That was cruel-!" Hwoarang exclaimed, shocked.

"It was chloroform," Nina muttered. "And she fell so that she's not going to get smothered. It was also necessary." Her slightly catty tone and the stoic way she was walking in her sharp stilettos showed that she had absolutely no interest in continuing that conversation further.

Finally, Jin came to the room he was looking for: 121. He stopped in front of it, and Hwoarang tried the knob. "Locked, go figure." He stepped aside.

Jin once more prepared his fist- and knocked briskly on the door. The three stood outside waiting, while the alarm blared, and the sound of the stairs was heard far away in the stairwell on the other end of the hallway. Finally, Julia came to the door and opened it.

"What do you guys-" Julia froze. She took one look at Jin, and covered her mouth. Looking around to make sure the Tekken Force hadn't come yet, she ushered them inside quickly and slammed the door behind them.

"Look, we just need-" Hwoarang began.

"I wasn't born yesterday, I know what you need," Julia said. Her voice wasn't as acidic as Nina's- but it was clear she was in a hurry for something. Rushing to the mini-fridge in the corner of her room, she pulled out a Red Bull bottle and handed it to Jin. Jin took it gratefully, and drank it down.

"Hey, how come I don't get one," Hwoarang complained. "I've been through just as much as this 'Prince.'"

"Do you honestly want a straight shot of bull testosterone?" Julia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hwoarang's eyes went wide. "I didn't know there was really bull in Red Bull-!" he stammered.

"It's just straight sugar and caffeine," Nina snorted. She caught Julia's eyes, and amended that: "Normally."

"Alright, I just need to bypass the camera's system, get into the mainframe and alter the video footage to hide your identities," Julia explained, sitting down at her laptop computer.

"Thanks for teaching me that trick, by the way," Jin said, standing next to her.

"No problem. The only problem that we have is we'll have to find a way to explain this sudden and extreme disruption that would warrant the security alarm going off," Julia moaned.

"There I can help you," Nina said. "Three words: Korean Army"

"That's two words," Hwoarang corrected her.

"The third word is 'basement,' then," she snapped.

Julia checked the footage of the basement, and looked at it closely. Some members of the army were still milling around, though the door had finally fallen forward and some of them were in the stairwell.

"What can you do with that?" Hwoarang asked.

"Exactly what we need to have done," Julia crowed. With what seemed like a few easy mouse clicks- but was, in reality, a few extremely complicated and advanced mouse clicks- the footage of the Korean army men entering the second floor popped up and replaced the image of the trio.

There was a sigh of relief in the room. Jin fell back onto the hotel bed, Nina relaxed against the side of the desk, and Julia reclined in her chair. Hwoarang was casting a strange and confused look between Jin and Julia. "Something tells me I'm missing something very important," he finally said.


	20. Chapter 20: Shaken, Not Stirred

**Chapter Twenty: Conflict is Better Shaken, not Stirred**

Xiaoyu paced across her room, to and from, to and from, one side to the other. Panda watched her at first with concerned curiosity, but she found she was lulled to sleep by the end of the first hour. Still, Xiaoyu paced, determined to stay awake until she saw him again. This wasn't particularly a problem for Xiaoyu, since she had always possessed an inhuman amount of energy. But even she found herself bored and tired after the second hour passed.

Knock knock knock. Xiaoyu jumped, surprised at how surprised she was when what she was waiting for came up Casting a look at Panda, who still slumbered, she skipped over to the door and opened it. "Hi-" she began enthusiastically- but her enthusiasm was strangled as a strong hand grasped her over her mouth.

"Marumph!" Xiaoyu protested. She struggled, she fought, she bit, but her muscles were tired, her mind was still shocked and a sweet sensation of sleepiness was traveling through her mind and body. The last thing she saw in a desperate attempt to break free was Panda, sleeping soundly on the floor.

* * *

It must have taken two of the most awkward hours for the alarm to fade. The Tekken Force had evacuated the top floor and spread throughout the entire building within a matter of minutes.

The video evidence was clear- the Korean army had invaded, opened fire, and begun up the stairs, leaving havoc and destruction behind them. The only remaining variable was: _why?_ Heihachi hadn't overtly crossed the Korean government; neither Roh Moo-hyun in the South or Kim Jong-Il in the North. So what was up?

After sweeping through the hallway and basement, the Tekken Force had done a thorough job- in other words, there were no Korean soldiers left alive to question. Heihachi followed along behind the Tekken Force, looming like the patriarch but avoiding any armed conflict- gun fights were only fun when they were one-sided, in Heihachi's mind.

"Sir, we have found no trace of anything telling to suggest why we were invaded by the Korean army," the lead of investigations said to Heihachi.

"You're not looking hard enough," Heihachi growled brusquely. He had worked for months to train his shoulders, to indoctrinate them and prevent them from becoming brawn without brain and mindless hit men. Somehow, behind his back, that had happened anyway. "Our investments in Korea are stable, there's nothing to suggest the communists are at all dissatisfied with their... technology. We're dealing with a whole other political issue."

"Perhaps it's the South Koreans, retaliating against your involvement?" the investigator postulated.

"Too spontaneous, politicians are more political than sending in armed troopers spontaneously and gun down a _hotel_." Heihachi walked down the carpet, looking at the bodies closely. "Note, they are North Korean uniforms." Stepping lightly in his sandals on the plush carpet, he came upon a soiled corner that squished. "Have the carpets cleaned, and instantly!" he barked as his final order. Turning on his foot and leaving, he had a thought occur to him at the back of his mind: What if the Korean's were after someone? Someone other than himself?

* * *

Jin looked at Julia. Julia looked at Jin. Hwoarang looked at Nina, who looked at Julia who looked at Jin, and the entire process began over again. Julia was clearly thinking hard- her lovely hazel eyes were fiercely focused as her information processor raced. Jin seemed calmer. His dark eyes held all the mystery they had had before.

"What do you want to know?" Jin finally asked, turning to Hwoarang, who was looking at Nina who was looking at Julia who was looking, surprised, at Jin.

"So, uh, Jin, _why_ were you drinking bull testosterone?" Hwoarang asked finally.

"Steroids," Jin answered plainly.

"That makes sense," Hwoarang murmured. "I mean, blowing open doors and-" With a pause, Hwoarang rethought his stance. "Wait, but how did you get all superhuman strong _before_ you took the red bull?"

Jin sighed deeply, as if he were talking to a loquacious but misguided child. "Magic," he said whimsically, making a mocking gesture with his hands. Julia smiled, shaking her head and turning her attention to her laptop.

"Hah. Cute. I'm not that dumb," Hwoarang muttered, drawing his arms up to his chest and standing up as straight as he could.

"I would make sure I was certain about that before making such allegations..." Nina joked, boxing Hwoarang on the back of the shoulder with the palm of her hand.

"Hey-! I thought you were on my side," Hwoarang complained.

"I don't take sides, unless they have a lot of money and someone to knock off," Nina quipped. Hwoarang couldn't help but feel a nasty, awkward moment after a remark like that, and so he sat down and sat on Julia's bed, next to Julia.

Julia was tapping away on her computer, clearly doing her best to ignore the Korean's presence on her bed with all that she had of her mental fortitude. Pretending her attention was completely won over by a complex scientific diagram, she idly looked up Pierce Brosnan on Wikipedia.

"So, after all I've done for you, you still hate me?" Hwoarang asked somewhat jokingly, his hands tucked into his pockets as he smiled a cocky smile.

"Yes," Jin and Nina answered at once. They laughed shortly at the irony of it.

"Jackasses, both of you," Hwoarang snorted, flipping his red hair to face away from the two of them. Nina's eyes caught Jin's, and the pair rolled their eyes at their odd 'friend.'

"How long until they clear out of the hallway?" Nina asked business like.

Looking up over her glasses, Julia went "Hm? Oh!" She minimized her internet explorer screen, and re-opened her covert operations system. A video of Heihachi leaving the bloodstained remains in the hallway popped up, covering her desktop image of "Mean Girls."

"Knowing Heihachi, he would hate to leave a mess like that in his pristine hotel," Jin said with a dark laugh, sitting close next to Julia and peering over her shoulder.

"Corpses do make for bad PR," Julia joked back. "It looks like Heihachi left. Most probably, they will remove all evidence from the scene, transport it to labs and other off-site places, and clean up the hallways. That means you're still stuck in here for a while."

"Great! It's been a while since I've been to a sleepover," Nina remarked with acidic sarcasm. "It's not like I have anywhere to be, no important clients or... subjects."

"I'm afraid they'll have to wait to die another day," Julia replied, quoting a Madonna song and James Bond movie. "You know, for an assassin, you're not half bad."

"For a straight-laced nerd, you're not so terrible yourself," Nina hit back.

"Touché," Hwoarang laughed, happy to have the quarreling shift from him to someone else. Unfortunately for him, Julia laughed herself, breaking the feasible tension and leaving a more amiable atmosphere.

"I suppose what you don't know can't hurt you," Julia finally said, not venturing to explore the meaning behind her vague remark. She looked over her shoulder and shared a smile with Jin, as if some secret were floating in between them. Hwoarang and Nina caught each others' eyes, looking somewhat confused. What exactly was happening here?

* * *

Xiaoyu was revived rather rudely with the slap of cold water across her face. She spazzed, her arms flailed and she managed to tumble off of the couch like a fish on a ship deck. Lying on the floor, confused and staring at the ceiling, she murmured out loud, "If this were a movie, James Bond would come and rescue me..."

A strange laugh filled the room. At first, Xiaoyu thought it was a dozen different laughs at different pitches from somewhere far away, but the voice was one although the tones were many, and she wondered if bumping her head could make her hear double rather than see double.

"Well, I see you haven't lost your youthful romanticism in the face of danger," Yoshimitsu said, a slight bite tainting his laughter with sarcasm.

Xiaoyu felt her mind immediately focus sharply at the mention of the word danger. But she knew, in the back of her mind, that trying to make petty threats and demands wouldn't suit her so well now. Instead, she hopped up to her feet like she was getting up from watching clouds, and looked around with a glazed look. "Where am I?" she asked. "Where's Panda, what are you doing to me, why am I here?"

Being eye to eye with Yoshimitsu was like trying to stare-off the creature in "Predator"- she found herself being more distracted by the face surrounding the eyes than she was occupied with his eyes themselves. Yoshimitsu, clearly not intimidated, shrugged his sharp, inhuman shoulders and smiled the sort of smile dentures might give without a face.

"You're in my hotel room, Panda is right here, I've transported you to safety in order to reveal the truth a blind girl like you can't see by her own independent will," Yoshimitsu remarked casually.

Xiaoyu broke her stare-off momentarily, and actual curiosity dusting her eyes as she looked around. It was definitely a hotel room, so that one checked out. Panda lifted her head, concern in her brown eyes with the sad black drops around them, and she nodded encouragingly to Xiaoyu. The only thing that didn't seem to make sense was knocking her out to take her to safety. Not to mention Yoshimitsu's suddenly flippant, inexplicable attitude was more alarming than his normal, vague apocalyptic manners.

Still, though, being rude to a kidnapper was not the best way to get on his good side. Xiaoyu decided that for now, she would have to take him at his word. She could also politely pretend she hadn't heard his insult. "Oh," she said brightly. "Alright. Would you like some, um, gum?" she offered in a slightly desperate attempt to be accommodating.

"No, it rots the teeth," Yoshimitsu said dismissively. "Take a seat, you'll probably want to be sitting down when you hear this."

"Why?" Xiaoyu asked, congenially obeying the innocent request and sitting down on the couch again. Panda approached placidly and sat down by her feet.

"So you aren't floored," Yoshimitsu explained, a touch of impatient irritation entering his voice. "Now, listen closely..." Yoshimitsu approached, and Xiaoyu noticed the presence of that brightly colored light sword of his, hanging dependably from his hip.

* * *

"So since when have you and Jin been..." Nina began slowly.

"Friends?" Julia piped up quickly. "Jin and I have been friends for years, his mom knew my adoptive mom, back in the day."

"Way back in the day," Jin muttered. "I was like a month old when we met."

"Yeah, in the Zaibatsu day care center," Julia added.

"Good night, this isn't going to be one of those things where your parents went around pretending you guys were going to grow up and get married, is it?" Hwoarang asked, a sickened curiosity entering his voice. It was the sort of tone one might use when asking gory details of a murder scene.

Julia and Jin looked at each other, thinking it over. "Not that I remember," Julia admitted.

"Whatever," Jin said, dismissing it. "We really don't talk much. The only time I really ever see her is at these Tekken tournaments anyway."

The conversation subsided from slightly awkward to irreparably awkward. Jin and Julia and Hwoarang and Nina found themselves pairing off and wandering into corners of the rooms, talking occasionally. Jin and Julia played Solitaire- Hwoarang and Nina played "pin-the-tail-on-Jin's-medical-condition."

"There is something sketch going on here," Hwoarang whispered, gladly noticing that the other two were occupied with the laptop.

"No kidding," Nina muttered. She had been struggling and struggling to process all that had happened, but things simply didn't compute. "He's never been that strong before, there is no steroid or magic out there that can make a man be able to break through an industrial strength deadbolt and steel door. Physics just won't stand for it!"  
"Damn physics..." Hwoarang muttered. "Why was he down there in the first place?"

"That's not my jurisdiction," Nina muttered, tapping her nails against her kneecap. "you're the instigator, not me, you figure that one out."

"The only idea I have is..." Hwoarang paused. He looked at Nina, and Nina looked at him and the two of them simultaneously passed an idea from one pair of eyes to the other without finishing the sentence.

"Hey, Julia," Nina called back. "Do you figure it's safe for us to go now?"

Julia looked up from her game, her big brown eyes thinking it through while her hands mechanically went through the motions of checking the screens. "Well, there are still Tekken Force people milling around, they won't like you out there but they might let you go up the elevator or something."

Hwoarang, suddenly filled with resolve, stood up and headed towards the door. "S'all good then, I'm immortal anyway."

"The only thing that could possibly last from you is your overweening ego," Jin muttered. Julia elbowed him in the side and he wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah, well, I'm just moving out if they ask. And for him?" she smacked him on the shoulder with the back of her palm. "I can just say he's with me, no one's going to question that."

"Except for Lei," Julia pointed out, citing the police officer who had chased Nina after her shoot and run earlier in the month.

"Screw him!" Nina said brightly.

"I thought you were an assassin, not a who-" Hwoarang started. He was interrupted by Nina's fist- and Nina's fist interrupts very rudely in conversations.

"Okay, well, take care you two," Julia said as they turned towards the door. Jin couldn't have looked more apathetic at the moment, but he at least dignified them with a parting salute as he puzzled over what to do with the red queen on the bottom of his deck.

Easing the door closed behind him, Hwoarang looked down the hall at the sparse Tekken forces, who were currently puzzling over a bottle of Scotch Guard, as if it had some sort of violently acidic properties. Apparently, Home Ec was not one of the courses required for Tekken Force training.

The two slipped down the hall to the elevator unnoticed, and Julia pushed the up button. Hwoarang gently held a hand to his nose, trying to avoid the disgusting metallic smell of bled mingling with Febreeze.

"Is it just me," Nina asked slowly, as the two of them wandered into the elevator, "or is Jin a pimp?"

"Must be the bull testosterone," Hwoarang answered, an unfathomable tone touching his voice. "I really could care less at the moment- let's just go make sure Xiao's okay."

* * *

"Jin Kazama is not what he seems," Yoshimitsu said in a vague, relatively dramatic way. Xiaoyu felt herself reminiscing about one of those corny James Bond movies again, where the super villain would reveal a character flaw of the heroine's beloved hero- although, calling Jin a "beloved hero" was pushing it a little, even for Xiaoyu.

"Whatever do you mean?" Xiaoyu asked, humoring him.

Yoshimitsu did something that very greatly surprised Xiaoyu- he sat on the couch next to her, and put up his legs on a small coffee table. Such a relaxed position, especially with his weapon still dangling from his hip, was incredibly ironic. "The Mishima family has a long line of bad blood," Yoshimitsu began. "Don't make me get into the science of it- I can't imagine you would understand much of it anyway- but the very genetic makeup of the Mishima family is tainted with evil."  
"Uh huh," Xiaoyu said, resisting the strong urge to raise her eyebrow and change the channel.

"Tell me Xiaoyu, have you ever heard of the devil?" Yoshimitsu asked.

"Well of course," Xiaoyu answered, trying to keep her normal peppy tone, but finding herself massively disinterested. She wanted to get down to the dirt. She noticed, however, that after the question Yoshimitsu hadn't ventured to continue. With an inward sigh, she elaborated, saying "the Devil is the evil part of good versus evil. He tries to corrupt people, kill people, and really just bring the worst out of people."

"With horns and goat feet, of course," Yoshimitsu mused.

"Nah, I always thought that version of the Devil was a little cheesy, I'll bet he's a lot scarier looking in real life," she said.

Yoshimitsu laughed obviously at the obscurity of her remark. "Oh, how little you know." She resisted the urge to flip over the couch, but instead she cocked her head to one side imploringly, outwardly listening and inwardly considering her best mode of escape. Yoshimitsu sighed. It was obvious this next part of the conversation was going to be significantly more difficult for him. "Jin Kazama- in one respect- is the Devil, Xiaoyu."

Xiaoyu had absolutely no clue how to respond to that. Simultaneously she wanted to laugh out loud, smack him in the face for saying something so mean, and ask him to explain. She decided on the last option. "What do you mean?" she asked, with the first bit of sincere curiosity.

Yoshimitsu leaned upwards a little bit, and Xiaoyu instinctively leaned backwards. Panda followed her own instincts, and planted herself firmly at Xiaoyu's feet where she could easily intercept at any moment. "He transforms, Xiaoyu."

It was an awkward statement in an awkward conversation that simply wasn't going anywhere pleasant in the next fifteen minutes. The mental image of Jin turning into a fiery red devil with a long pointed tail, horns and goat feet flashed into Xiaoyu's mind like the Incredible Hulk. Somehow, Jin in split pants with brightly colored skin wasn't quite conducive to Xiaoyu's mind, and she wondered what sort of insanity was lurking behind that maddeningly abnormal face in front of her.

"Look, Yoshimitsu, I appreciate this, but-" Xiaoyu started.

"Why should you trust me?" Yoshimitsu finished. Xiaoyu hadn't exactly intended to say that, but she realized how perfectly his ending fit. She couldn't quite find a way to refute that allegation for a few minutes. "I'll give you one reason to trust me, Ling Xiaoyu, one reason to know that I know what I'm talking about, and I'm not insane." Oh great, Mr. Scary Face can read minds too. "Do you remember why you entered this tournament?"

Xiaoyu's eyes widened. She tried to clear her mind, keeping her dream from popping up just in case Yoshimitsu really could read minds. "I entered the tournament to fulfill my dream," she answered slowly.

"No," Yoshimitsu said. Xiaoyu felt herself ease with relief- maybe he wasn't so certain of himself. "You entered because of an email."

Cold. The room suddenly got very cold, and Xiaoyu couldn't seem to shake it with all of the warm and fuzzy thoughts in the world. All the cold and scary thoughts kept pushing through. Throughout all the hustle and bustle, her feelings for Jin and her involvement in the tournament, she had completely forgotten the fundamentals. She didn't even remember that that email was why she was looking for Jin in the first place! The cold memory of him confusedly denying sending her any emails sprang back up to her memory just a few moments too late. "How... how did you know that?" she asked, feeling Panda stiffening as well.

"I sent that email," Yoshimitsu replied. And his voice just got that much scarier.

* * *

"That is a good question, why bull testosterone?" Jin asked, sitting down on the corner of Julia's bed. She flipped down the bright screen of her laptop, adjusting her night-braids and looking at him like he just fell off of Mars.

"Don't you remember what all the other specimens did?" she asked incredulously. "I swear, if I could figure out an alternative to subdue your transformation, I would seize it in a heartbeat, but at the moment, bull testosterone will just have to suffice."

Jin fidgeted, obviously irked by that statement. He pulled up one leg against his chest, casually taking off his coat and picking at the frays where stray bullets had gone through while in the basement. He was perfectly prepared for the third degree he was about to receive in here, so he simply waited coolly for the burn.

"What in the world were you doing down there, anyway," Julia asked. "I mean, even chauvinistic bravado has its limits."

Ah, there it was, the burn. "Is it illegal to go to the parking garage?" Jin implored, dropping his voice to keep that smooth mystery. Julia wasn't at all fooled- she had known him too long.

"Well, interfering with a clandestine and potentially dangerous meeting with a violent Korean army seems a little _SILLY_, I mean, you practically exploded and slaughtered everyone in there without a second thought, doesn't that mean _anything _to you?"

Jin winced at the last bit of Julia's diatribe. He had been prepared for a comment like this, sure, but even a "respond to pissy women" phrase book couldn't save him in a circumstance like this. "A momentary lapse of judgment, that's what you want me to admit to, isn't it?" Hearing no protest to that, Jin assumed he was right and continued "You don't give me enough credit. I kept it subdued, I'm not weaker than it, and I knew what to do when it got too close."

With a deep sigh, Jin jumped when he felt a light finger tracing lines across his back. "How do you explain this, then?" Julia asked.

Casting Julia a very strange look, Jin stood up and turned his back to the mirror, looking as well as he could over his shoulder. Black. Black curving lines from blade to blade, curving demonically across his back. It was fading- traces of his skins tone were gradually fogging the dark lines. But it was still there.

"To anyone else, it's just a tattoo," Jin snorted.

"Just be grateful we have something that can slow up the process, Jin. If you aren't careful, you could wind up with thousands dead and a serious sugar addiction." Julia swung her legs over the edge of her bed as she wandered over to her desk. She opened up a drawer, and pulled out a bit of make-up.

"You have got to be kidding," Jin asked, raising the side of his lip up in disgust. "You can't do that to me, that must be illegal."

"You're not going anywhere with those visible," Julia explained, wielding her bottle of concealer like a weapon. "And you sure as anything aren't staying in here."

"What? You didn't kick Hwoarang and Nina out!" Jin snapped, quickly grabbing his coat and running to the other side of the room. "I'm not putting that on, that's like getting... bull estrogen or something-!"

"_COW_ estrogen, maybe," Julia corrected him. "And no self-respecting girl would let a boy stay alone and unaccompanied in her room at night, you must be insane!"

Jin had half a mind to mention a certain self-respecting girl with whom he had spent at least three nights without anything "shocking" or "disrespectful" happening, but at the moment his feminist friend was frightening enough without giving her blackmail material. "Look, I'll just wear my coat, okay? No one can see through the coat."

"Or the bullet holes," Julia quipped.

"Or the... bullet... Look, this is totally insane and unnecessary; they'll disappear in half an hour. I'm not going out in the hallway, the Tekken Force has something of an automatic twenty-four seven stalk Jin alert going on, and I'm not putting myself at risk because you're squeamish."

"Who said you're going out the door?" Julia said with a slightly mean smile.


	21. Chapter 21: Turning Point

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Home Stretch**

The lobby started looking different after all of the friendly faces were whittled off. Although, it was a stretch to call them friendly to begin with. However, as the realization sunk in that the up and coming competitions were going to be pitting the best of the best against- well, the best of the best- it replaced any curiosity into bloodlust Xiaoyu couldn't help but feel like a puffball, standing there in between Bryan Fury and Craig Murdock. The presence of Panda by her foot was her only relief. Where were all of her friends?

Breaking the mounting tension, the TV flickered to life fifteen minutes earlier than normal. Relief washed over Xiaoyu; seeing the somewhat grandfatherly face of Heihachi should calm her down. But Heihachi's face was anything but grandfatherly.

"Yesterday, there was an incident," he began without preamble, the fury rolling off of his wrinkled face like blood down a waterfall. Images flashed across the screen, and Xiaoyu felt her stomach turn as images of dead soldiers crossed the screen.

_What's going on?_ Panda emoted, sitting at ready on the alert.

As if to answer, Heihachi continued "We had a visit from the army last night, around midnight. Anyone with any information regarding the Korean military, or any tournament members- eliminated or remaining- it is within your best interest to report it. We will find the information- just like we'll find who's withholding it."

_Korean... _Xiaoyu thought.

"That's not foreboding at all," Hwoarang said from behind her. Xiaoyu practically jumped a foot in the air, and both Bryan and Murdock gave her a condescending turn of the nose

"Don't sneak up on me with dead _bodies_ on the screen-!" she gasped, holding her hand over her heart.

"Oh, nasty..." Hwoarang muttered. He supposed the Scotch Guard hadn't been whipped out at that point.

"What's nasty, your misplaced self-confidence?" Julia chided.

"Someone gunned down the Korean army-!" Xiaoyu explained, feeling the pit in her stomach return.

"Tekken Force gunned them down," Julia replied. Seeing Xiaoyu's suspicious surprise at her saying that, she explained, "I think they want to know _why_ the Tekken Force was in the building, not who killed them. Tekken Force has never let an intruder in since I've been in these tournaments."

That seemed to satisfy Xiaoyu's immediate curiosity, and Julia couldn't help but feel a wash of relief. She didn't even know why it mattered to her what this little Chinese girl thought of her, she probably wouldn't keep in touch in between these tournaments.

"Have they started listing the seeds yet?" Julia asked.

"This isn't extreme gardening," Hwoarang snorted.

"Seeds, you know, the term serious fighters use to address the different rounds," Julia retorted.

"They only just finished the newsfeed," Xiaoyu explained as she curled her arms around her chest to mask that disturbed chill in her spine. Hwoarang moved towards Xiaoyu instinctively, but caught himself and began to feel extremely uncomfortable. It was up to Julia to put the comforting arm around Xiaoyu's shoulders.

"The first battle will be between Craig Murdock and Panda."

The fierce face of Panda and her equally animal opponent Craig Murdock filled the screen. Xiaoyu peeled one of her arms from her chest to rub Panda behind the ears. Panda didn't seem too phased at the moment. She was staring forward, her dark black eyes determined.

"The second battle will be between Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima."

A pulse went through the group as they were huddled together. Heihachi was up to something. Xiaoyu felt sympathetic; fighting family had to be one of the worst parts of this competition, and she found herself hoping that she would be paired against someone she didn't know, someone who she could fight completely unreservedly without inhibition...

"The second battle will be between Ling Xiaoyu and Bryan Fury."

For some reason, the old expression "Be careful what you wish for" came to Xiaoyu's mind.

* * *

Jin's coattails caught the breeze, and the black cloth flowed behind him like the tail feathers of long, black wings. His dress shoes touched the wizened grass and dried up dirt with his confident, purposeful stride. The day was overcast and relatively cool- perfect for his purposes. The gentle feeling of his bangs wafting against his forehead, the warm shade of the clouds and the graceful curve of the tall trees with the rhythmic sway of the branches, brushing the leaves together; it was a perfectly reverent moment.

He stopped when he came to the memorial stone by the lake. The remnants of light slid lazily through the leaves and rested on the water, as if it were glass and the light was sleeping on it. Resting peacefully somewhere deep beneath the Earth, the undernourished grass and soil, there was a small box beneath that grave stone. A box which contained not the remains of, but objects owned by the deceased Jun Kazama.

It had only seemed appropriate that she be buried by water. Her very spirit seemed to be made of it, the way she adapted so smoothly and the way her grace just flowed from every pore. It was the most selfish act of Jin's life, to drag his mother's memorial from their beautiful country cottage to the Mishima graveyard, buried by the Urban Zaibatsu and all of its treachery. Somehow, even the sanctity of her memory couldn't dispel the even of the evil surrounding her memorial. But he couldn't bear to leave that tiny place in the woods, and he couldn't bear to be so completely uprooted. So he brought his roots with him, and buried them here, in this peaceful corner.

Kneeling down, Jin propped his elbows on his thighs and buried his face in his black gloved hands. Somewhere far off, a bird called. There was the occasional crescendo of the leaves' rustle as the breeze picked up, but it inevitably fell. But even so, Jin recognized the dark feeling that he was not alone. "How long are you going to stand there before you interrupt my sacred moment?" he asked finally.

Reluctantly trailing from her hiding place behind the morgue, Nina trailed into view. "I figured I would give you a chance to make your peace," she murmured.

Her docile response surprised Jin. Standing up, he brushed the stray bits of dirt that his knees had accumulated. "What brings you here to a private place such as this?"

"It may sound a little freaky, but I always feel at home in this sort of a place," she explained. Her stiletto heels sunk ever so slightly into the earth as she approached him.

"Perhaps you relate well to the dead since you've added so many to their number," Jin said with a sardonic smile. Nina returned it, shaking her head slightly as the light picked up off of the gold in her hair. "What do you really want."

"I had to ask, sooner or later, what the Hell really happened in the garage," Nina replied. Her voice was suddenly all business; she wasn't prepared to take "no" for an answer, and Jin saw that.

"I won't tell you," Jin muttered challengingly, turning his back to her as he began to leave the cemetery.

"What, are you afraid of revealing your weakness?" Nina challenged, chasing after him. "I'll find out sooner or later, I have my ways with these things."

"Weakness?" Jin laughed, and turned to face her. "Do you really think it was _weakness_ that blew those doors from their hinges?" The heavy silence lay between them. Nina couldn't respond, and she felt herself begin to fiddle with her coat hem. "Just as I thought," Jin remarked.

Nina whipped her pistol from the holster hidden beneath her coat pocket. "Now would be a good time to stop thinking, it's only getting you into trouble," she hissed.

"Alright, then I'll let you do the talking. Who put you up to it?" Jin asked. He began a slow circle, keeping his eyes fixed on Nina's, making no motion towards a weapon of any sort. "Hwoarang?"

"No, stop moving."

"No, he would much rather deliver himself, he'd never get a _woman_ to do it..."  
"Stop now."

"Heihachi?"

"I mean it, Kazama, stop now."

"Well, I think at the moment, he'd prefer me alive. I suppose that leaves only one sick enough to send an assassin to the cemetery-"

The sound of the pistol going off ripped through the peace and quiet of the cemetery. It had been aimed for Jin, but within a moment he had dropped to the ground, ducked, and rolled. Another pistol was heard clicking into place, and Nina realized with a sick feeling in her gut that it had clicked right beside her head.

"Kazuya," Jin finished with a wry smile. Nina's pistol was still pointed forward, but the other pistol was right by Nina's temple- no chance she could dodge a shot like that.

"He really hates you, you know..." Nina stammered, trying to look over her shoulder at her assailant. "How the Hell you managed to get your own father to hate you that much, I'll never know, but he damn well does."

"Surely someone with such a... congenial relationship with her sister should understand that family ties make the greatest knots in nooses."

Recognizing the futility of holding a gun forward to a non-existent prey, she dropped it to the ground. "Well," she murmured. "You haven't fired yet."

Without preamble, Jin pushed Nina out of his lock grip. "I have a proposition." Turning and continuing in his circle.

"You're offering me more than Kazuya," Nina inferred. She gently reached her hand out, in order to "steady herself."

With a short laugh, Jin shook his head. "What, so you could betray me, go back to him and get even more? Competitive business, maybe, but I don't have any interest in that. I have a different kind of a proposition." He stopped, turning his back to her.

Urging her hand forward, Nina curled her fingers around the handle of her precious pistol. She felt much steadier with the true, metal form beneath her gloved hands. "A proposition over the grave of your dead mother, that seems beneath even you," she snorted.

"Oh no," Jin said, turning and kneeling to be at eye level with her. When their eyes met his flashed with something curious, something Nina couldn't recognize in him. Was it that same eerie yellow glow from before? Or something even deeper? "It's the sort of proposition mother would be proud of."

* * *

"Well, Xiaoyu, it's been awhile," a deep, Santa Claus sort of voice chuckled.

Xiaoyu turned in her cafe seat, and she literally stopped breathing. For a moment, she thought her heartbeat might have stopped. Thank God it wasn't so, because being caught by Heihachi- the infamous, dangerous, and incomprehensibly charismatic leader of the Tekken Zaibatsu- without breath or a beating heart was like calling Saint Peter and asking to join him for dinner.

"Hi Heihachi," Xiaoyu squeaked. Fortunately, most people expected that sort of behavior from her, so he didn't seem nonplussed. Sitting across the table from her, Heihachi drummed his fingers against the table. There was something infinitely obscure about someone of such wealth and power sitting at the table in a Starbucks.

"Xiaoyu, I would like to ask you some questions," he asked. His voice sounded amiable enough, and the question could feasibly be twisted into some nicer context. Xiaoyu knew him too well, though.

"What kinds of questions," she asked, trying to put on her "serious face."

"The sorts of questions that can only be answered in my office, at my chair," he replied. His casualness was disarming. She knew exactly what he was talking about. His own personal lie detector set up right there in his office. It wasn't a good chair to be in.

"And if I say no?" she asked.

Heihachi cocked his head ever so gently to the side, and Xiaoyu noticed a man with a newspaper looking awful stiff. Perhaps the semi-automatic strapped around his waist made him that stiff. "You don't," he answered. "It's standard, of course, of all finalists."

At the moment, there really was no way out, and Xiaoyu knew it. Heihachi had a way of catching people when chucking tables and chairs wasn't in their best interest, and being in a Starbucks during coffee hour fit the bill. Sighing, Xiaoyu realized _This will be my second partial abduction in 24 hours..!_


	22. Chapter 22: A Few Fighters More

**Chapter Twenty Two: A Few Fighters More**

"Alright, well, what do you want to know?" Xiaoyu asked. Somehow, sitting here strapped into a chair made compliance seem like an awfully good idea. She had never been attached to the polygraph before. It was a charming experience that ranked between ripping out hair and dental surgery that she hadn't been in any rush to experience. But like wisdom teeth, it seemed like a requirement for anyone close to the Mishima family.

"How was your day?" Heihachi asked suddenly.

Was this a trick question? Xiaoyu hesitated. That was just a little too normal. "Um…" she began, her mind blank. Blink. Blink. "Fine, I guess," she finally answered.

"I guess?" Heihachi prodded. He crossed his hands much like the principal of a high school would, leaning forward on his desk. That same sort of secret knowledge danced behind his eyes, as if he already knew the answer to the question, but was waiting for her to offer it up. He didn't say anything else; he just waited.

"Well, I am tied to a lie detector and I don't know why. That loses happy points," Xiaoyu answered politely, dipping her head to the side to illustrate her point.

With a chuckle, Heihachi said "I suppose."

_Jerk…_ Xiaoyu thought, curling her hands. Her porcelain knuckles whitened, and Heihachi arched an eyebrow.

"I figured you would prefer to be with friends. Have you had a chance to reunite with Jin?" So flippant, so vague was this question. What did he want? Xiaoyu found herself taken slightly off guard, and she let the needles next to her stop scratching quite so hard.

"Wait, what? Why Jin?" she finally asked.

"Well, you did spend several years in school with him," Heihachi pointed out.

"Oh." It was too obvious, that's why she couldn't figure it out. "He stopped talking to me when he left-" Xiaoyu stopped her sentence before finishing. An empty, awkward silence was interrupted only by the scratches of the needles next to her.

"What, when he left my house?" Heihachi finished it for her.

"Yes," Xiaoyu timidly replied.

"Such a shame… have you seen him?"

"Yes," she answered without thinking.

"Really?" Heihachi said. She could detect a sudden alarming interest, and she wasn't entirely sure how to respond.

"Well, yeah, at his match I came. He didn't see me though," Xiaoyu added.

He examined her face. Was he looking for the lie? She couldn't tell, but all she could do was remind herself: it was true, she went, she stayed, and she only saw Jin. "Do you have other friends?" Heihachi finally asked.

"Well, Panda of course!" Xiaoyu piped up enthusiastically.

"Of course," Heihachi said flatly.

Xiaoyu paused, caught off guard by the sudden switch from cavalier. She hesitated, before adding, "Well, Julia I guess is a friendly acquaintance. Hwoarang drives me nuts."

"Oh, does he?" he asked, watching her closely as if he were feigning to be feigning interest.

"Yeah, well, he's kind of mean," Xiaoyu admitted.

"Where is he from again?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, he's a redhead who is clearly not Irish," he pointed out delicately.

"He's Korean," Xiaoyu answered.

_Bingo… _Heihachi thought. "I don't suppose he left because of legal trouble," Heihachi prodded.

"Nah, he just went AWOL," Xiaoyu replied.

"Away With Out Leave?" Heihachi said suddenly.

"Yeah, if that's what it means, but nothing too bad," Xiaoyu replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She had never heard of anyone getting in trouble for being AWOL. Then again, she had never honestly heard of what happened to people who went AWOL; she had only really heard of MIA.

Heihachi didn't bother to correct her. "I suppose. Did you see Jin at all?" he asked, shifting the conversation. Point 1 had been addressed, and she seemed reluctant to touch on the second point.

""Well, technically I saw him at the match against King, but he didn't notice me," she answered, once again politely. Déjà vu? She felt like they had already visited this.

"What did you do last night?" The way he asked the question was very insinuating. It was as if… no, he couldn't know. He didn't have cameras in Yoshimitsu's room or anything, right? Unless it was a setup. Oh God. He could know everything if he had eyes and ears in Yoshimitsu, he could have found out almost anything. Was it a test? If she lied, he might know she was lying, and think she lied about other things. But if he didn't- oh geez. Things are much simpler when you're honest; but then, they're just as easy when people assume you're honest.

"Uh, uh, well, I, uh, hung out with Panda pretty much," she said. She almost regretted it instantly. His eyes seemed to darken.

"Is that all? Nothing out of the ordinary?" Heihachi asked.

He was giving her a second chance, she felt. But she couldn't take it, she couldn't take the bait. What if Jin was in danger? She could really get him into trouble if she wasn't careful.

"No," Xiaoyu finally answered. Heihachi watched her very closely, before shifting in his chair. The next question he asked brought the whole interview crashing down:

"Have you heard from your parents?"

* * *

"Jin," The firm voice shouted as it always had. Nothing was particularly different, and as Jin trained, he inwardly rolled his eyes at the piercing voice of Hwoarang trying to get his attention like a neglected purse puppy. He didn't bother to respond. He kept his attention on the speed bag hung in front of him. It would be much easier if it were only him and Anna, situated on a bench in the far side of the room, than to have to include Hwoarang in the equation.

"JIN," Hwoarang insistently said, striding towards Jin purposefully.

Jin sighed. "You and I both know how this is going to end. You're going to ask me for a fight, I will refuse because you're not worth my time, you'll throw a hissy fit and I'll be in just the same place I started, but with lower cholesterol," he finally acquiesced, not taking his eyes off of his gloves. Anna's gentle giggle echoed.

Maybe he should have looked, though, because he didn't see Hwoarang's fist until it blindsided him. Touching his cheek, Jin felt the bone in his cheek throb. Whirling around, his eyes flashed and his eyebrows, piercing, knit together.

"I'm not leaving until we settle this," Hwoarang hissed. His eyes were dark. The casual camaraderie that they briefly experienced after the incident in the garage had disappeared. Jin honestly hadn't seen Hwoarang this serious before.

Jin straightened his neck. He boxed his knuckles together lightly and rolled his shoulders. He was halfway through picking his teeth when he struck Hwoarang firmly across the face with his fist. Unfortunately Hwoarang, he hadn't seen Jin truly serious before either.

"We both know how this will end," Jin snapped, snapping another quick punch into Hwoarang's stomach.

Hwoarang was unphased, he clearly wasn't about to let pain stand in his way. Tightening his resolve and his muscles, he pounded Jin with kicks, which sent him into the wall. "It'll end with me," Hwoarang taunted, striking out again as Jin parried. "Standing in victory, my revenge won." He wasn't expecting his opponent to laugh, and he certainly wasn't expecting Jin to pull out the Mishima uppercut after leaving it in the closet for so long.

"Positively primeval," Jin snorted. He cracked his foot down onto Hwoarang's shoulder. "All talk. No delivery."

Hwoarang rolled beneath Jin's legs and kicked him from behind, taking an attack stance and striking forward quickly with his kicks. "Well, I'm about to go Fed-Ex on your ass, bitch!" With that, it is safe to say that everything went to hell in a hand basket. Rules of karate, engagement, and especially common courtesy were tossed out the window (even though they were in a basement underground) and instead they each threw there opponent in the tile walls, Jin leaving a blood print from his hand where he had scraped it hitting the tiles, and Hwoarang dripping on the tile floor from his split lip.

Anna, who had been hanging around, gingerly took her things and left.

"You took my reputation from me," Hwoarang screamed, trying a punch.

Jin deferred it, eyes flaming. "You never deserved it," he spat.

"You took my girl," he added, hooking Jin in the stomach.

With lightening agility, Jin managed to get his arm around Hwoarang's neck as he pressed his back to the lockers. Hwoarang clutched and grabbed at the lockers, trying to break Jin's grip.

"Let's not make this about a girl," Jin asked snidely. "It makes it all seem so sad. This is man business where dealing with now, alright?" He flexed his muscles, closing Hwoarang's windpipe.

Hwoarang curled his fingers around an open locker on the upper level, and swung the door into Jin's face. Jin's grip broke as he stumbled away from the door. "Fair enough," Hwoarang snorted.

* * *

Sometimes, people realize that there had been a feeling of sadness underneath the warmth they feel. It can be bittersweet and pleasurable, like a hot fudge sundae, where the two contrasting feelings reach a sort of content equilibrium. Maybe it was because all the warmth in Xiaoyu vanished, or maybe because cold feelings like fear and sadness are never as pleasurable as ice cream, but she felt the sudden, overpowering cold.

"No, my parents haven't contacted me," she replied evenly. Even shortly.

"Why do you think that may be?" he prodded. His eyes were like vents from an air conditioner, and another gust of cold came from him. Was that hate she detected from him? Or was it emitting from herself?

Why hadn't they contacted her? Maybe because they never wanted her to begin with. From the moment they knew she was a girl, from the moment her sex became apparent it was decided she wasn't wanted. But what options were there? Abortion? Infanticide? No, they didn't have it in them to hurt the baby, even if they didn't want her. So they kept her. And ignored her. And treated her like she was disabled, incapable. Even when she worked, even when she took up fighting, no, she wasn't good enough because she couldn't carry the family name and build a legacy like she could if she were a boy, and because of that stupid law her stupid parents couldn't have another boy and do it right! Until she ran away. They couldn't have been happier.

It took her a minute to realize she had said all of that out loud.

Oops.

"I remember." That was all Heihachi said. That was all he could say.

Xiaoyu couldn't take it anymore. All that was swirling around in her head, all of the angst and betrayal and unhappiness, it was just too much. She leapt out of her chair and straightened briskly. The Tekkan Force behind her tensed and prepared their weapons, but Heihachi waved them off as she slammed her palms on his desk.

"Look," she hissed. He looked. She wasn't entirely sure what to say next, she hadn't thought that far in advance yet. It was clear Heihachi was waiting, and any minute his wrinkled face would curve into that sick smile, a bemused and condescending way to show how she wasn't good enough. No, not this time, she wasn't going to wait around for it. "I don't care how rich you are, how powerful you think you are, or any of that. I'm going to break you, and take it all out from under you to keep you from hurting anyone else. You're a sick man and I'm going to cure you!" she raved.

"Cure me?" Heihachi asked, his wrinkled face curving into a bemused smile.

"Like the disease you are, I will snuff your type out of existence until there's no more of your black virus to poison the rest of us!" she corrected. He didn't look intimidated. Taking her moment to exit, she turned on her toes and left the room with a purposeful stride. He would feel the burn of her threat very soon, and she knew it. He just didn't know it yet.

After she left, Heihachi stood, taking the paper from the polygraph and laying it on the desk in front of him. To the Tekken Force, he said: "I think we have a pretty good candidate for our little experiment, don't you?"

The Tekken Force, ever eager to please, laughed alongside of Heihachi.

"What's so funny? Go get Anna, she has a job to do and if she doesn't get the girl exactly the way I told her to, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!" He slammed his fist on the desk, and as if he had hit the on switch the radio transmission came alive and Anna's smooth voice said "I'm ready when you are."


	23. Chapter 23: Maybe

**Chapter Twenty-Three****: Maybe**

Espionage is completely overrated. Especially in the middle of the afternoon, in the climax of a fighting tournament, without any previous experience in breaking and entering. Julia wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't considered the grim possibility earlier that she might not be able to investigate the data she wanted to find, but somehow she found herself procrastinating and here and now wondering why she hadn't thought of this earlier.

It wasn't like her reforestation plan wasn't important- it was all she ate, drank and thought of for a good portion of her being. She wasn't too good for a little snooping; her integrity would still be intact of she stole that corrupt beast's convertible like a modern day Robin Hood.

She supposed that somewhere between her personal drive for training and physically competing, her lost match against Kazuya and the incident with the Korean Military, things just got shifted around. Not to mention it was wonderful to see her old friend again.

_Jin…_ Poor guy. Saying he hadn't had the easiest of existences would be an understatement, since even her raising in the middle of the American desert hadn't been as loveless and intense has his bitter life in the Mishima household. Scars run deep, and she could only imagine what tattered sort of soul he had.

The blinking green light in front of her brought her back to Earth. A friendly click of a door's lock releasing met her ears, and the door pushed open the first few centimeters. Taking a breath, Julia swallowed what was left of her nervousness so it could join the butterflies in her stomach and gave a hefty push on the door.

Lab coats swarmed and flowed like the trench coats in "The Matrix," their tails flipping quickly as the wearer hurried to the next destination. Julia was right at home here. Pushing her glasses up her nose as pretentiously as she could and readjusting her plastic surgical gloves, she joined the chaos.

The blueprints hadn't been to scale, she could tell that just by looking around. She hadn't been in the research center ever before, and the lines of computers, lab stations and cluttered desks were clearly farther than two meters in, and she felt the temporary panic start to enter.

"Have you completed the final stages in the experiment?" one lab technician would snap.

Another cried "Begin analyzing the data, there's too much at stake here for one little hiccup to disrupt Heihachi's plan."

"What are you wandering around for, there's work to be done!" a third snapped. At her. It took a moment for Julia to register the man in the lab coat's harsh words.

Choking out her stammer, she brought out a confident air and said, "I wasn't told of anything I should be doing," she replied.

He snorted. "You weren't told- Pah, you should be doing ANYTHING other than cluttering up the lab!" he started. Other people started to look; this was not good. Too much attention wasn't good. Julia tried to interject, but he plowed forward, "If you don't have anything you should be doing, missy, you shouldn't be in here!" The accusing tone was not good. Not good at all. But no matter how many times Julia thought that, she couldn't fabricate anything better.

"It doesn't suit a woman to be confident," a friend had once told her at college. "Whenever you ask a question, you can't sound like you already know the answer, or no one will answer it for you."

The Lab technician had stopped. He stood with his hands on his hips, clearly waiting for her to respond. Other people, though they wouldn't let it come to their faces, were clearly wondering the same thing.

"I… I'm sorry, I just, well, no one told me where the data archives were, and I was a little… embarrassed," she confessed. _Bat your eyes, bat your eyes!_ She thought frantically. The most she could do with the paralysis she was feeling was let her eyes go wide. She must have looked enough like an injured puppy- the Lab technician softened.

"You interns and your attitudes," he complained. "Can't just ask for help, you always have to sound like you know the answers. I don't even know why Mishima takes interns, even promising ones." He shook his head, and grunted, waving towards the back of the room before pushing past her.

It was a nice feeling, having oxygen in her lungs. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she let it out and took in another fresh lungful of air. One thing she would have to add to her list of things to do when she changed the world, however, was to make it so it did suit a woman to be confident. Maybe she could do this. Maybe.

* * *

Xiaoyu was furious. She couldn't remember a time that the bubbly sensation she felt was like water boiling over, but this time it definitely was. Passive aggressive, that was the term for it. She remembered it from her psychology course. Someone joked and said she was passive aggressive. Most of the time, she honestly didn't think she was; but then again, she was starting to question a lot of what she thought. 

Storming down Mishima hall, she thought Heihachi would have sent the Tekken Force after her. She was almost hoping for it- beating down a couple of rent-a-soldiers would do her good at the moment. It wasn't like him not to retaliate, especially after an insult.

She was also starting to question Jin. Where was he? Why did he really stop by her room? And most importantly, when he made that horrible remark, "You never know who you can trust anymore," she was so sure he was furious- why had he forgiven her so quickly? He was up to something. And it was safe to assume Hwoarang was always up to something, since his dishonest nature couldn't be quelled by anything like friendship.

Mostly, though, she was starting to wonder why she was surprised to see Anna walking down the hall towards her. Maybe it was because there was no one else in the hall, or maybe it was because she was paranoid about Heihachi- when Anna pulled a gun, it began to make a whole lot of sense.

Xiaoyu dropped down to the floor just in time to hear what sounded like a cork popping out of a bottle. Rolling backwards, she looked frantically along the hall for a door, another hallway, any sort of escape route. But clearly this part of the Mishima Zaibatsu wasn't made to allow escape.

"You can pull all the gymnastics you want," the deep voice of Anna taunted. "You can't get away from me."

"She could easily get away from your cold. Dead. Body," the third, steely voice replied. Xiaoyu hardly had time to register the pale hue Anna's face had turned before the rapid sound of bullets tearing the air sent everything into chaos.

* * *

"GUNFIRE!" Julia heard someone scream. Panic seized the office very quickly. The scientists flooded in a sea of white, clutching vials, test tubes, and notebooks while scrambling to find places to secure them. Julia honestly wasn't sure what they were concerned about; any gunfire in the Mishima Zaibatsu had to come from Heihachi's blessing, and his office was just upstairs and to the East. It wasn't until the fire alarm started sounding, and the red flashing light pulsed through the room that Julia began to get concerned. 

The door to the emergency exit from the lab was flooded, and the clog of people went into complete and utter chaos. This was her chance, and she knew it. No questions, no awkward answers, and no overseers to question her motivations. But what if this were really a fire? Did she want this to be her tomb?

Finally the scientists filtered out, and a cleaning person slipped in. He adjusted his cap awkwardly and scanned the room. When his eyes found Julia, he jumped nearly three feet in the air.

"Bloody 'ell, don't you know? There's a FIRE!" he shouted in a thickly British accent.

"Steve Fox?" Julia asked, eyes wide.

"Julia Chang?" he asked, eyes wide.

Steve blinked. She blinked. Neither of them entirely knew what to do the recognition, especially since it was safe to assume that neither of them was there to bake cookies for needy children.

"Is there a fire?" Julia asked skeptically.

"Naw, I just pulled the alarm," Steve answered hesitantly. "Did you open fire?"

"No, the guns are in the hall behind the lab," Julia explained slowly. "I don't know what's going on with that.."

There was a long pause, and Steve fidgeted with his hat while Julia toyed with her lab coat.

"What are you-" they both started, only to stop quickly.

"I have a degree in Botany, I'm SUPPOSED to be in a lab like this, Heihachi just doesn't know that yet," Julia explained. She turned her back to him and returned to the computer where she had been pulling up records of past experiments related to botany, biology, reforestation, and even some for genetics. She had an ulterior motive for the last one, and Steve didn't need to know about that.

"Well, s'long as we're bein' honest," Steve started, raising an eyebrow at Julia as he walked farther into the now empty laboratory. "When I got 'ome, I found out 'o was s'posed to assassinate me, so I came 'ere to figure out a bit more." Julia was instantly reminded why she " 'ated" the cockney accent that peppered Steve's dialogue. At the moment, he seemed more transfixed by the giant glass tube with the latest version of the Jack model than he was with assassins. "Mind if I watch for a minute? I've never used a computer like this…" he asked.

She wasn't sure why he asked, since it was clear by how quickly he appeared behind her, looming over her shoulder, that he didn't need her permission. It was kind of comforting though. It reminded her of college, when people would crowd around and watch DVD's on computer screens since she was too strapped for cash to afford a TV. Or too cheap. She never really was sure which one fit her better.

"Sure, I'll give you a crash course sometime when there aren't dangerous people with guns patrolling the building," she joked. Joking about death, to her, was perhaps the best way of confronting it. Steve laughed appreciatively.

Julia, however, was far more interested in the gunfire she was hearing. What was the Tekken Force up to? She took out her palm pilot, which she had wired with four Picture-In-A-Picture of the principal security cameras. The Tekken Force were nowhere near the hallway outside, however. They seemed to be localized in the hotel, heading towards the basement.

* * *

Hwoarang tasted the semi-sweet, metallic tinge of blood in his mouth, and there was an honest moment where he realized that, in spite of all the study, examination, and stewing he had put into this, Hwoarang had managed to underestimate his opponent. As the master of treachery, bribery and cheatery, he was almost impressed at the low blows and dirty tricks he had made necessary for Jin to do. 

There was a pause for breath between the two of them, and Jin wiped his sweat spattered bangs from his forehead as he mentally calculated the injuries he had sustained and how many more he could take before he was jeopardizing his match with Kazuya. The two of them watched even the slightest swell of breath in the other, tensed and ready to pounce come necessary.

Hwoarang leapt forward. Jin made a leap for the door. Hwoarang honestly wasn't expecting that moment of cowardice, and hesitated before giving chase. His feet pounding against each stair as he launched himself up, he followed Jin into the hotel hallway upstairs only to find himself face to face with the Tekken Force. Jin didn't even hesitate; he lunged up the stairwell. Hwoarang, eyes wide, headed for the same exit, but found himself blocked off by a Tekken Force soldier. Another leapt between him and the door to the basement. They circled around, and he put up his dukes as quickly as he could.

"You're the reason the army invaded," an officer said. It wasn't a question- it was an accusation.

"What's it to you?" Hwoarang spat back. "Kazama went THAT way, if you want to get what you want."

The circle moved in with military precision. It seemed Hwoarang had also managed to underestimate the Tekken Force. They loomed, unarmed but still intimidating with surprising agility. This must be some sort of special ops. Eyes darting to keep up with each encroaching threat, Hwoarang tensed up as he felt cornered.

"Don't you realize? You're the target," the officer sneered, raising his gun as a thousand more clicked ready to fire.

"Target practice was moved," a voice shouted. A firm fist landed on the back of the officer's head, and the gun flew to the floor. Hwoarang instinctively scooped it up, and the rest of Tekken Force whirled around and focused on Julia. She didn't look too intimidating in her glasses and lab coat, but they knew better than to underestimate a competitor in the King of the Iron Fist tournaments.

"This doesn't involve you," one soldier warned. The soldiers behind Hwoarang loomed in, and he whirled around with his gun to try and intimidate them.

Noticing that Hwoarang was alone and Jin wasn't represented, Julia had a moment where she thought that no, this didn't involve her. But then, no sentient human being she could think of deserved to be mauled and beaten by the Tekken Force.

Quick as a deer, Julia jumped forward to attack, hitting one in the stomach and slamming her elbow into another soldier next to him. Hwoarang tried to open fire, but three Force members overwhelmed him. With a powerful thrust of his arms and a few kicks, however, he beat the two of them back just as Julia spun around and kicked two more.

"Just maybe we can do this," Hwoarang thought. Maybe.


	24. Chapter 24: Helter Skelter

**Chapter Twenty-Four:**** Helter ****Skelter**

"Nina. I should have known," Anna spat. Her harsh tone was covered by the blast of her pistol as she aimed to fire again, this time at a newly restored target.

"Hmm, well let's see who's the bad sister now," Nina chided, reloading her gun. "In cahoots with Heihachi? Even I wouldn't go so low, for shame." Evasively ducking from side to side in the hallway, Nina fired her Uzi six or seven more times to try and get a direct hit.

Anna dodged, impressively with her high heels, and she snorted through her nose. "The bad sister? The bad sister. Last I checked, sister, you left me in Dublin to fend for myself, and those backstreets aren't forgiven."

"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about," Nina barked . "You can call me mama like a baby chick all you want, but it'll never be more than annoying."

"YOU'RE MY SISTER, DAMMIT!" BANG. BANG. Click. The out of ammo sound clearly wasn't one Anna wanted to hear, so dumping her pistol to one side she whipped out a second from her garter holster.

Xiaoyu was somewhere close to panic. Every single nerve in her system was screaming at her to get out of the way, that she didn't want to be in the middle of this. Especially the sisterly rivalry part. She didn't know where even to begin; it was all just a little bit over her head at the moment.

* * *

Steve Fox had no idea what to do with himself anymore. Here he was, surfing a database he hardly understood in a place he'd never been in before, looking only for the identity of his parents he'd never known with no jumping point to speak of. The genetics section of this was flooded with information on the "D-Gene," and since the "D" probably didn't mean "Dad," but rather "Dimethyl-tripropyl-butanoic acid" or some scientific crap like that, it did no good to him.

Things hadn't gone to plan. From the moment he lost to that red-headed punk, things were thrown helter skelter. Now what? To restore his name and reputation, he would have to fight. All that fame and glory went to whoever happened to be the highest bidder, and he could easily have lost his bid.

And he had absolutely nowhere else to go.

Not to mention that, with Julia gone, he was beginning to feel a little vulnerable. Those gunshots outside were getting intense, and he thought he could hear shouting. If someone was getting murdered right outside, he wasn't honestly sure how he would react.

The little hairs on the back of his neck definitely stood up, however, when he heard an inhuman, guttural roar shake through the walls.

* * *

There was a moment when everything in the hallway stopped. It was like slow motion, where everyone's instincts told them to run but two fat paychecks were in the way. It wasn't human, and the walls and floors felt like they were shifting beneath their feet.

Xiaoyu stood up for the first time in the past ten minutes. Danger was always corrupting the innocence of adventure. Right now? She was almost certain at least one life would be ending in this doorless, soulless hallway.

Another roar ripped the silence, and within seconds Panda had bounded around the corner. Within moments she had struck Anna to the floor with a mighty paw, and Nina watched, stunned, as Panda tore forward towards her.

Quickly placing herself, Xiaoyu cried out "NO!"

Panda paused. Her eyes watched Xiaoyu, waiting for orders.

"She helped me," Xiaoyu explained, gesturing to Nina.

Panda nodded, and turned. Anna was pulling herself off of the floor, and Panda was by no means done with her yet.

"Get to your match," Nina said.

"What?" Xiaoyu asked.

"Go. It's a public place, no one else will attack you there. Get there, and get there fast," she ordered.

Xiaoyu nodded and complied. She knew deep down she didn't want to be there for this.

* * *

The first shot she took to the head wasn't so bad. It briefly disoriented her, but Julia was made of stronger stuff than sugar and spice; she had a little more kick. But when the second, third, fourth and fifth came and she started feeling dizzier and disoriented, she realized how wobbly and shaky her kicks were becoming. Then, she suddenly realized they weren't hitting her anymore. Figures, since her limbs were all four of them pinned down.

Spitting in the most lady-like of ways, Julia looked around to try and locate Hwoarang. He wasn't faring any better. A web of soldiers had him pinned to the wall. The officer, very cranky and potentially maniacal, since most officers in evil corporations had that trait, stalked towards him.

"Hwoarang," he began, his voice sharp. "Give us one good reason not to deliver you into the hands of the Korean military and let them deal with the 'pest problem.'"

Julia didn't know Hwoarang very well, but she saw fear pass through his features for one brief moment. He coughed and flipped his hair, instantly putting on his used car dealer impression. "Because," he began, pausing momentarily for effect.

"Because," whispered the officer harshly.

"You can't seem to find Jin, can you, every turn you miss him," Hwoarang began.

Julia wasn't sure what he hoped to gain from mocking his captors, but she wasn't exactly in a position to protest. Maybe he was trying to lull them into some sort of self-doubt, so they could unleash round two of the fighting and take them down.

"He's an annoyance, that's all," the officer murmured, stepping back from his captive and turning his back to him.

"I can find him in twenty minutes tops," Hwoarang said.

It took a moment for this to register. When the officer realized what he was suggesting, his eyes lit up. When Julia realized what he was suggesting, her heart fell into her stomach and her face fell. "Hwoarang, don't even think about it, if you-"

She was interrupted by a fist in her stomach, and she found herself coughing without air to cough with. Gasping it back in, she noticed that Hwoarang had looked over at her, albeit briefly, before turning and facing forward.

"So, what's your decision, Hwoarang?" the officer asked.

"Will you not turn over my whereabouts to the Korean military?" he asked skeptically.

"I can't _promise_ they won't find out where you were… but they won't know where you are," the officer insinuated.

"And her," Hwoarang nodded to the right. "You're not going to do anything else to her."

Julia physically had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at him right there and his noble and gentlemanly efforts.

The officer paused, and then disappointed agreed.

"You can't do this-" she started again. Punch again, harder this time, and if she didn't know better she'd think her appendix had ruptured.

There was a long pause. The arms holding Julia down tensed, and the officer began to sway from foot to foot, his helmet hiding whatever human features he may have had. The soldiers stationed around the room- just by counting, there must have been twenty- looked all the world like grey grasshoppers with Green Goblin masks, and they certainly swarmed. They swarmed like locusts, and all Julia could see was Jin pinned up against the wall with thousands of these beasts cornering him.

There were a lot of things Jin could get out of. There were some impossible things he could do. But Julia was pretty sure this was a rung above impossible.

"I'll do it," Hwoarang said.

For one time in her life, Julia couldn't believe in the impossible.

* * *

The door slammed open, and Nina staggered in with Anna's beaten and bloody body. Panda lumbered in behind her, and Nina tossed her "sister" roughly to the floor. They had entered the first room they could, and to absolve themselves from crime they had been merciful enough to let Anna live. She was in nothing resembling good condition, though- and Nina was hoping to find anywhere to keep her.

"I'll bandage her up," Nina said to Panda. "Find some rope."

Panda grunted and set on her search.

"Having no family at all makes things less complicated," Nina told Anna's unconscious body. "You should try it some time. No Christmas cards to mothers who worry, no living up to daddy's expectations, no sibling rivalry, no assassination attempts… Thank god I didn't procreate."

" 'Scuse me," a voice said from behind.

Nina must have jumped a foot in the air, and she dropped the bandage she was winding around the claw marks on Anna's arms. Steve Fox, who looked a little shocked, stepped back from where he was. "Where the hell did you come from?!" Nina demanded, wiping her bangs back and picking up the bandages. She was unsettled, flustered, and Steve could tell, though he had no idea why.

"I've been in 'ere for over an 'our!" Steve protested.

"Yeah, whatever. Make yourself useful and tie up her legs," Nina said.

Steve was certain he hadn't heard that one before. Panda was trying to pick through drawers with her massive paws, but was finding it difficult. Groping past test tube vials and such, she was definitely missing luxuries like opposable thumbs. "Where would there be rope in a laboratory?" Steve thought to himself. Blank on other ideas, he checked the broom closet that he had to use under his disguise as a janitor, rummaging through Clorox, Febreeze and Scotch Guard.

Cinching the last wound on Anna's arms closed, Nina paused and marveled at the irony of her actually trying to give medicinal aid to someone instead of killing them. The idea was laughable- she had no idea how Panda managed to convince her to do it. Come to think of it, she had no idea how Panda could convince anyone of anything, but she had found a way.

"'Ere we are!" Steve announced. He dangled a long extension cord down in front of Nina. She arched an eyebrow. "Ropes on a little short supply," he said with a sheepish smile.

Nina laughed at his impetuousness. "Fine, alright, it works."

Anna groaned. She was coming to consciousness, and fast. With a flick of her wrist, Nina thrust one end of the extension cord across the long lab and began wrapping her end around Anna's torso. It took Steve a moment to realize that he was supposed to get the other end and wrap her feet.

"So, uh, why are we wrapping 'er up?" Steve asked, almost too scared to ask.

"She tried to kill someone," Nina answered flatly.

"Is she really-" Steve stopped, sitting up and looking at Anna's face. "Bloody 'ell… She really could be your sister, you know…"

"I don't have family," Nina snapped a little too harshly.

"Me either," Steve replied conversationally. He seemed willing to briefly overlook Nina's outburst as he lifted Anna's calves to get the extension cord under and wrap her more properly. "Don't honestly know 'o my parents are, they didn't know where I came from either."

"Mine are dead," Nina said, trying to kill the conversation.

"Oh, speaking of-" Steve Fox started. He stopped when she raised her eyebrow at the awkward segway. "Thank you for saving my life," he said with a meek smile.

Aw, wasn't he cute with his cute little accent and his cute little smile and his cute little celebrity status. A regular boy toy, Nina thought. How many girls did he charm with that one? "You saved me from myself" or "You're my inspiration" were probably his favorite lines.

"Yeah, well-" Nina sighed. "You're welcome." And she meant it. Next she knew, she would be volunteering at pet shelters and adopting orphans.

"No, I can't- It's not that simple, I know it can't be a 'Thank you' and 'You're welcome very much sir' type o' thing, I owe you, and when I say I owe you I mean it, you know? Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked. After a pause where he looked at Anna, he added "Other than tie 'er up, I mean."

He was asking for an explanation in some tripped up British kind of way, and she knew it. "What do you want me to do, get you to play fetch?" she said. She handed him the end of her cord to him. "Tie this to your end when you're finished, and don't tell the police about this. That's the most I can think of."

Steve looked at the extension cord like this was a trick question. "Can't I just like, plug 'er in?" he asked.

Panda trailed up with a pair of lab goggles, and nodded happily as if to say "I found rope!"

Nina laughed to herself. "No, thanks Panda. Now we need to find something to plug her in to."

She looked over her shoulder at Steve with a smile, expecting him to laugh at her little pun. Steve didn't even notice her now. He was much more interested with the little screen Julia had left behind when she left so suddenly.

* * *

Jin hit the wall hard. He didn't realize how hard he had leaned against it until he felt the flash of pain fire through his system. His breathing- it was so erratic- he felt like he couldn't get enough air, no matter how hard he inhaled, no matter how deep he tried to go. It was like it was impossible just to fill his lungs.

Hwoarang didn't do this to him. No, he wasn't strong enough, strong enough to beat his body to this point. Was he? No, pain seemed like a temporary sensation, within seconds after feeling it from hitting the wall, it had disappeared just as quickly. Jin just didn't understand his body, no matter how much this happened, he couldn't understand, he just didn't get it. How did he "sense" the Tekken Force coming? He saw them clear as day, as if there wasn't any sort of a barrier between them.

He couldn't stop now, he knew that. It wasn't safe. Rubbing his head to dispel the sensation of a headache, Jin found two goose-egg sized bumps. Ugh, maybe Hwoarang didn't manage to get him a few times. The tiny pointed ends of the horns unfortunately escaped his attention as he continued to run down the hallway.


	25. Chapter 25: Duck Duck Goose

**Chapter Twenty-Five: ****Duck Duck Goose**

Xiaoyu wasn't sure how she felt, fighting under these conditions. The verdant forest she was standing in was lovely, she was sure of that, but she had an odd feeling that she couldn't see anything that was happening around her. Having an assassination attempt made on her definitely changed her perspective on things. For the first time, Xiaoyu understood how Lincoln felt.

The announcer was an intercom. The crowd? No, there were just cameras. This was high stakes now, the periphery of the entire ring was wired, guarded and watched. There was no way anyone other than her opponent and her could get in here. With Bryan competing, however, she wasn't comforted. "He's just a scary ugly guy," she coached herself, ignoring the cameras. "Just a scary, ugly guy with a bad temper and absolutely no skills in public relations."

Someone laughed behind her, and the hair stood on end. It wasn't Yoshimitsu's laugh-of-many-voices, either- it was a deep, rich sound of a man with just a touch of insane. And there was only one person who could possibly be here. Xiaoyu knew that, and she turned around quickly.

There Bryan stood, all of his pasty, pale glory, a wide scar traced down the side of his face. From the thick gashed scar on his chest, it looked to the entire world like he had been cut completely open from shoulder to hip, and was somehow pieced back together. His eyes, cold and mechanic, were ethereal and bright. There was an odd sensation, looking at him in the dark forest. His white hair and skin shot out to the eye from the deep and green backdrop. Just looking at him, one might think that without the scars he could resemble handsome.

But there was something else about him that jumped out. As rich as his laugh had been, so rich was the aura of evil that hung on him like a stench. All happiness tumbled out of her system, just looking at him.

"BRYAN FURY, LING XIAOYU. ROUND ONE!" the speaker screamed.

She had to throw every ounce of speed she had to dive past him and avoid his impending fist. Winding up in a fortunate place behind him, Xiaoyu kicked from behind her, launching him into the air. When she curved her arms and hit him in the stomach, he grunted. Grunted. That's it. She had just hit him with two of her signature moves, and all he did was grunt.

Curving his hands behind his shoulders, he kicked up to his feet in an instant. With nearly military precision, he hit her firmly with two fists and two kicks. Xiaoyu swayed, watching the leaves spin. Oh, wait, her head was spinning. No, wait, heads can't spin, necks don't let that happen. Bryan went for a low kick, and Xiaoyu managed to get the presence of mind to leap up. Landing, she grabbed onto his shoulders and ran up his chest, firmly hitting him with each stride. He fell back- and got right back up.

When she saw his punch pushing towards her again, she dodged less enthusiastically. Her lungs were just beginning to complain about being under too much stress; but Bryan seemed just a nonplussed has he had when he walked up. Oh, wait. Two of his hairs looked a little helter skelter. Somehow, Xiaoyu didn't feel like she had accomplished much.

Crouching down, Bryan plowed upward towards her stomach. Her tender organs panicked, pushing her muscles into action and she dive rolled out of the way. With a quick peg leg kick, she landed a blow on him and turned around, bouncing from foot to foot to orient this. She was doing it. She could do it. With a surge, she plowed forward into Bryan, pounding him with all her petite form had- which was surprisingly more than anyone would know just by sitting next to her on the bus.

Bryan wavered and fluttered, and he lay there on the ground. You would swear he had just been unplugged the way he laid down, completely devoid of energy.

"ROUND ONE, LING XIAOYU!"

* * *

Heihachi was a man of luxury. You could look at every bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and broom closet in his house and understand that. It's unfortunate that his opulence and luxury stops before his "guest rooms." The prison bars were old school, standard steel poles from ceiling to floor like a stalactite and stalagmite met in a cave. That was all Julia could think of. Hwoarang ? He was less distracted by the cave-like appearance. This was practically home for him. 

"Your selfishness never ceases to amaze me," Julia muttered.

"Oh trust me, I've got more," Hwoarang replied caustically.

"I've never met someone more in love with themselves than you are!" she exclaimed.

"Haven't you heard of Narcissus?" he chided.

"What did you say?" she said, surprised.

"Narcissus. You know, the guy who like, fell in love with his reflection 'cause he was THAT hot, and then he wasted away and turned into a flower or something girly like that? Geez, I thought you nerd-types were supposed to know that crap."

"I _know_ who Narcissus is, you _ass_. I just can't believe you knew a word that wasn't a monosyllabic four letter word," she snorted.

"Yeah yeah yeah," he muttered, curling his fingers around the bars pensively and leaning back. Julia was sitting on the floor; there weren't too many options. It was either sit or stand on the floor, and Julia was feeling a little too floored to keep standing much longer.

Things had gone downhill so fast. All she could think about was her poor friend, tagged by Tekken Force and marked for destruction. _Friend…_ Curious word to use.

"It's all because of you and your stupid revenge," she suddenly burst out. Hwoarang didn't even turn his head. Jumping to her feet, she came up behind him. "This is a lot bigger than just you, the world does not REVOLVE around you and you have absolutely NO idea what the hell you just did, just because you're too chicken to own up to your responsibilities or admit that you. Are. Not. Strong. Enough."

"Too chicken?! Pardon me, but this chicken doesn't want to wind up deep fat fried. At least I'm not acting like a chicken running in circles with my head cut off!"

"At least I had a head to begin with," Julia snapped.

"Yeah, right. Well, I know a number of polysyllabic words, bitch, ones that you don't even know! How about communization? Socialization? Ever heard of a Communist take-over? No, because you were too busy frolicking with Bambi in the forest!"

"What does this have anything to do with ANYTHING?! Bambi, I lived in a DESERT, we didn't even have tumbleweeds to cavort with! My homeland is disappearing-""Cavort means frolic, right?!" Hwoarang shouted back.

"YES, it's a Verb!" Julia replied in shout speak. The two made eye contact, and there was a brief moment where the two of them almost laughed at their own obscurity. Unfortunately, the seriousness of the moment was overwhelming.

"North Korea is no desert, we have men with guns and mines, we have bombs and nuclear weapons and other things that go bump in the night. Did they teach you 'fission' in Save-The-Trees 101?! That's my backyard-!"

"My backyard is the crap that no one wanted, so they gave it to my tribe! We had NOTHING, we grew our own food and caught our own game!"

" I got OUT of there, that doesn't HAPPEN! People don't escape, they don't leave, they're trapped, and there is no way under the greatest powers of HELL that I am going back." His tone was empty and furious; she could sense something much more powerful than his normal arrogant outbursts, and somehow it frightened her more. "I would lie, cheat and steal if it kept me out of there, and you have no right, no basis, no KNOWLEDGE to even begin to judge me. Step off- I have some planning to do."

He turned around back towards the bars, his knuckles turning white has he gripped them and surveyed the empty, sterile hallway outside. Julia felt like she had just been slapped. Taking a few steps backward, she sank to the floor and watched her feet for a while.

"Here, in this cursed Zaibatsu, is where all the problems start and people start betraying each other and calling it "life," saying "that's just life," and "life's not fair."

"We all have problems," Hwoarang remarked.

"Yeah, well, I intend to be a solution," Julia replied.

Hwoarang laughed shortly. "No band-aid is big enough for North Korea…"

"Who knows, maybe you can do some good," she said.

"Yeah, well.. it's not happening in their military," he said finally. "Whatever.""So…" Julia paused. She didn't want to prod; she had a feeling she had learned more about him in two minutes than she had in all of the other years she'd known him, and maybe a certain level of "Too Much Information" could be breached at any minute. Still. They seemed to briefly be at some sort of understanding. "What are you planning?""A way to get out of here and give Kazama a hand," he answered softly.

Julia paused, before laughing out loud. "You don't know _ANY_ allegiances, do you?"Hwoarang smirked. "Just to me, myself and I… oh, and Baek. He's pretty cool too."

"Ah, it warms the deepest parts of my soul…." Baek said with a slight smile as he appeared around the corner. Hwoarang's eyes widened and he stepped back from the bars.

"Woah man, that's just freaky, that kind of stuff doesn't happen in real life, that's movie-type crap right there-!" Hwoarang stammered in his most eloquent speech.

Fidgeting with keys in his hands, Baek smiled wryly. "Well, I admit to waiting for the opportune moment… I would have interrupted your wonderful sob story if I just came up the moment I got here," he explained, nonchalantly unlocking the door.

"You've been around since- Rrrgh!" Hwoarang fumed.

"You guys were having a touching moment, I dared not interrupt," Baek said with a smile.

Julia laughed a little uncomfortably. "Well, I for one am glad that someone showed up, even if he did have a flair for the dramatic and a penchant for eavesdropping."

"Your welcome milady," he replied, easing open the bars for them to exit.

"Cut the bullcrap," Hwoarang said as he kicked open the door brusquely, causing Baek to stumble back. "We have some sorting out to do and it's not getting done by itself."

"Who are you and what have you done with my thoughtless, foolhardy and rash Hwoarang?" Baek asked incredulously.

"What are you calling me now?!" Hwoarang demanded.

"Thoughtful, foolhardy and rash," Baek observed.

With a laugh, Julia pushed past both of them. "Sorry guys, but I have to go to the lab," she said, dashing forward.

"Wait up, what for?" Hwoarang asked.

"I left my TV behind."

* * *

"BRYAN FURY, LING XIAOYU. ROUND TWO!" 

Xiaoyu barely had time to sidestep his first strike, but it was futile anyway, because he swung his arm and elbow into her chest. She was reminded of metal by the firm, solid hit she suffered, and she lost footing and dropped to her knees. Bryan didn't hesitate, he didn't consider- he simply punched her full-force. Right in the face.

Whiplash is painful. For a minute, Xiaoyu seriously thought she broke her neck. For some reason, her mind convinced her that it would be a good idea to stand up and try and figure that out. Burning sensation in the neck? Check. Taste of blood in her mouth? Check. Bryan's fist coming straight at her? DUCK!

Xiaoyu dropped briskly to the defensive position, ignoring that tinge in her neck and dropping to her hip to try and trip him with her legs. People say that in times of crisis, the world slows down. Sometimes, that may be true. But at this time of crisis, the world started spinning fast, so fast, and in an instant Bryan had changed positions and she could practically see all of his muscles shift into place to deliver a powerful blow as she oriented herself.

Oh crap.

Flying back two yards looks like a lot of fun. Flying back two yards with Bryan's fist in your stomach and your back against the sharp bark of a tree was just pain, pain and danger pulsing from every poor. It wasn't like a roller coaster- that whiplash came with the sensation of free fall, adventure- not intense pain. Just pain.

Her lungs were shouting at her. Her heart was pounding in her throat. And, worst of all, her hair was an absolute nightmare. Lying back onto the ground, Xiaoyu listened to the speaker as the count trickled by. Tears burned her cheeks as the horrible scenario by scenario flashed through her mind. What could she _do?_ Forfeit at life? She had never experienced anything that strong and fast. She looked up at Bryan. Cold, calculating, his lifeless eyes and tense muscles challenged her to try anything.

Maybe next time.

* * *

Coming out of the cell was the easy part. For some reason, the guard had been called somewhere else, and the hallway was filled with nothing but the escapees. Julia ran up to the door to the hallways, looking up and down the halls. She didn't see anyone. Hwoarang was close behind her; she could hear him breathing. And Baek- well, Baek was casually strolling down the hallway. 

"Wait a second, you don't know if that's safe," Julia whispered furiously as he passed her.

"Seriously, this place could easily be crawling with Tekken Force snipers or the boogie man or other scary things!" Hwoarang snapped, trying to keep his voice low and his patience high. He was failing miserably, for the record.

"Since when were you scared of the boogie man?" Baek asked.

"Since he and Chuck Norris started their own late night comedy show," Julia muttered. Hwoarang couldn't help but laugh, stepping back to press his back against the wall.

"Relax," Baek assured them. "I walked right down here no problem. The entire Zaibatsu, I walked right through it without running into a single soul in order to spring you guys. There's absolutely no one here except us ducks."

Somewhere behind him, guns clicked into place, and Baek's face turned white. Hwoarang winced angrily, resisting the urge to slap a hand to his forehead. "Remind me never to play duck duck goose with you…" he muttered.

"Is there a worse sound in the world?" Julia whispered to herself.

"Well, that has to be the worst prison break ever," the familiar voice of the Officer chided from his invisible hiding place.

"That one's worse…" Hwoarang replied, stretching his hands. There would be some serious butt-kicking that would happen in about three minutes, and frankly he wanted to be on the right side of the scoreboard this time.

* * *

Xiaoyu realized could easily be staring into the face of her death. It wasn't hard to imagine, that's for sure. Bryan could be the grim reaper on the weekends; all he did was hang up his black cloak and put down his scythe to pound people into the ground, before getting back to guiding the beaten souls down to Hell. 

_Okay Xiaoyu, don't think like that…_she thought to herself. The fifteen minutes between rounds was ticking by, and she could scarcely look at the beast. Looking at him, she was reminded of a younger Rutger Hauer, from the "Bladerunner" and "Ladyhawke" days of the 80's, just barren of human compassion and Hollywood handsomeness. Kind of like Hannibal Lecter, now that she thought about it. He did seem the type to be a closet cannibal.

_Xiaoyu-! This isn't helping!_ Xiaoyu knew it was no use trying to calm her inner turmoil. He was under her skin as quickly as Hannibal could have been. Her confidence and sense of self-security had been shaken alongside her ribcage, and as her organs reorganized themselves, they were a bitter testament to the strength he had trapped in there.

He watched her as steadily as a statue. He moved once, to flex and kill a mosquito that had tried to stop and feed. He killed a mosquito by flexing. _He's just a man. He can be beaten like any other man. I have to find a weakness__. How did I beat him so easily the first time?_ She did it the first round and she could do it again. Even if he didn't seem tired, or phased, or injured, or breathing heavy, or at all threatened by her. She would have to prove him wrong.

A buzzer beeped somewhere far away. That was there call to resume positions. Every muscle in her body resisted, they all pulled her back, far away from that thing that watched her so steadily. No, she would have to do this. For herself. For her dream. And even for Jin. Just a little bit for Jin.

"BRYAN FURY AND LING XIAOYU, ROUND 3. FIGHT!"

**A/N: I LOVE BRYAN!!! I'm so happy to bring my scary ugly baby into this :-D He's probably my favorite character in Tekken, and I just wanted to say that I'm infinitely happy that he found a place in my story to kick some serious butt. He got gyped in Tekken 4 as far as story goes, that's for sure...**

**Thanks for reviews and support. The story is coming to a close! It won't be much longer, but believe me: there's a lot more that's going to happen between now and the finale:-)**


	26. Chapter 26: Knights of the Turning Table

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Knights of the Turning Tables**

"We've got you cornered like a fox," the Officer informed him.

"I am pretty damn hot," Hwoarang said. Julia raised an eyebrow. "I couldn't resist," he said with a smirk. With a laugh in spite of herself, Julia shook her head and smiled. It was odd. Hwoarang wasn't used to having one of those powerful independent female types around him, and he especially wasn't used to said type of female interacting with any chemistry. So what if he could seriously die in the next twenty minutes- he was damn sure going out with a bang.

"Seems to me like you're more or less cornered by a Fox," a voice said with a laugh. Julia and Hwoarang looked at each other. Since when did the Tekken Force speak with a British accent?

Several members of the Tekken Force poured into the hallway from all directions- but they were running with their backs towards Hwoarang and Julia, the few with guns mincing backward. Baek leapt back from the flow, finding asylum beside Julia and Hwoarang.

Once Hwoarang saw Nina's bright blonde hair, however, he got a pretty good idea of what was happening. "Nina!" he called, waving.

Clearly, Nina didn't return the gesture. Armed with two pistols she was holding at ready, she had a stone hard poker face. Nothing in the world existed outside of her and her target- especially the distant redhead waving at her from around the corner. Suddenly, a door from a broom closet burst open, the door smacking a Tekken Force member and sending him to his butt on the floor. A janitor armed with a broom swooped the handle under the soldiers' knees, tripping them up as they just began to register his presence.

"Steve?" Julia whispered.

Oh yeah, it was Steve Fox, Hwoarang found on closer inspection. Hwoarang was the reason Steve had lost the competition. He had a feeling that, if Steve didn't bring it up, that wouldn't make the best topic of conversation for after-party banter.

"What the Hell is happening-" Hwoarang started.

Julia didn't reply- she grabbed his hand, and jumped into the middle of the hallway, and put her dukes up. "We've got you surrounded!" she shouted to the Tekken Force, as brave and stoic as a soldier.

The officer, ever nonplussed, ever cavalier, crowed "Not quite! We still have the staircase, which we will lead you up in cuffs before this battle is done!"

There was a guttural roar, reminiscent of the Jurassic Park dinosaurs, coming from said stairwell. Julia, Hwoarang and Baek paled a little at the sound; Julia remembered hearing it in the lab. Was the beast following her?

Panda thrust through the door with her shoulder, and it swung on its hinge nervously.

"Oh," the officer said when words failed him.

"Yeah," Nina snorted. "Oh."

She stepped forward. Steve tossed aside his cap, swinging the broom and putting it against the wall to put up his fists in its place. Panda eased up onto her back paws, tossing her head as she looked down on the Tekken Force. Hwoarang, Baek and Julia were lined up at the back end of the hall.

"Thirty Tekken Force; six Tekken fighters?" Julia asked across the pack of Tekken Force.

"We've got you outnumbered, five to one!" the officer challenged.

"Pssht, five each? We've got this," Nina said coyly. But the way the officer smiled, well, that admittedly made her a little bit nervous.

At once, the Tekken Force sprang forward towards the Tekken fighters. Hwoarang was a little surprised- he hadn't expected to face all five of his opponents at once. With a quick kick, he hit one square in the jaw; another one, however, ducked under his leg and pushed upward on his hamstring, sending him tumbling backward onto his back. With a snort, he pushed up to his feet, uppercutting the smart aleck on the base of his jaw, sending him back into one of the soldiers coming for Julia.

Julia had hopped into overdrive the instant she saw the small mob come for her. With a spin kick, she had taken care of three for the moment. Jumping over them and kicking another square in the chest, she landed awkwardly on a soldier who was standing up, sending the both of them sprawling momentarily. Striking out blindly on her way down, she didn't manage to connect anything real, and hopping into the defensive she rolled back. "Come on and get me," she challenged.

The sharp sounds of gunshots began. Nina spotted the ones with guns instantly- they seemed to all be coming for her. With an aggravated sigh, she clicked both pistols into place. "As if I'm just a threat," she thought, opening fire. The gunslingers instantly noticed her, needless to say because of the bullets, and turned their guns her direction. Six guys. Twelve bullets. Oh well. Nina side rolled as quick as she could, popping out her bullets carefully.

Hwoarang looked over when he had a moment, a breathing second, and noticed Nina's predicament. Could she do it? The rapid sound of pistols being fired shattered the question before it could be answered. Baek, shocked and standing in the middle of the hallway, froze. Hwoarang couldn't see the Tekken Force, he couldn't see where Nina had ducked for cover- all he could see was Master Baek, standing stunned as a deer as a bullet ripped through his shirt.

Thoughts flashed through his head, of years alone and years spent without a family. They seemed as real as they had been a decade ago as Baek fell right into the middle of the hallway. Hwoarang could see the confusion on Nina's face.

"Baek?" a small voice in Hwoarang's heart asked. "Revenge," a strong voice in his mind demanded. Hwoarang plowed forward, kicking and catching three of the gunmen in the backs of their necks, sending them to the floor. When another Tekken Force grabbed onto his shoulders, he thrust them off, and Steve plowed his fist into their chests, sending them sprawling.

"Got your back," Steve murmured.

Well, that was an unexpected little twist. The corner of his eyes caught Baek, though, lying there on the floor, and he couldn't even feel flattered- he was furious. Nina's bullets caught the gun out of another one's hands- Panda swooped in with a powerful paw to swipe soldiers to the floor with brute force. She was a one bear knock out force. Steve, on the other hand, was taking out the trash, in spite of his janitor uniform. His fists swift and his ducks precise, years of boxing had obviously given him the skill to encounter and overcome groups before.

Julia, when given a brief moment, ducked among the unconscious bodies as they dropped to the floor, her finger set gently to Baek's neck as she settled onto the ground next to him.

Hwoarang was beating down with a vengeance. His foot, his ankle, and his fist made nearly twenty new friends as he tore through each soldier that approached him, catching the ones behind him with his elbows and launching them across the room with his heel whenever possible. Steve caught the ones he beat aside and with a swift fist made sure that they fell to the floor and stayed there as long as necessary.

Nina couldn't sight very well with all of the chaos- her guns were almost useless, she could just as easily hit Steve or Hwoarang as she could a soldier. Catching a creeping Tekken Force soldier in the side with a swift bullet, she tried singling out each one with her sight scope.

It was a long time before Nina's cartridge clicked empty, Steve threw his last punch, Panda roared her last victory cry and Hwoarang finished pummeling each sorry soldier as brutally as he could. When the last one crumbled to the floor, there was a confused moment.

"Now what?" Steve asked.

"We make sure no one's playing raccoon," Nina said, shoving a gun into Steve's hands and gesturing to the unconscious Tekken Force. "If one moves? Make sure he doesn't make that mistake again," she said coldly. Steve looked at her, eyes wide, but he nodded.

Hwoarang couldn't care less anyway. He ran straight for the middle of the hall, where the white training uniform of Baek was crumpled in a small ball on the floor. "Is he okay?" Hwoarang asked. He had one thing in mind, and that was making sure there wasn't a man down. Julia looked up at him quickly, before resuming her work. She had lifted Baek's cheek onto her thigh and was gently slapping the side of his face.

"Wait a second, wait a second, we're hoping for consciousness here…" Julia urged.

"Come on, Baek, come on, I'm too young for you to die-!" Hwoarang murmured.

Baek murmured and gargled. His eyes opened confusedly, and he looked around. "Whose glorious leg am I on…? Am I dreaming..?" he asked distantly.

Julia jumped nearly a foot in the air from surprise, but she laughed.

"Baek, are you… are you okay?" Hwoarang asked dumbly.

"…Yes…" he said slowly.

"In spite of the bullet, right?" Julia prompted, laughing as he sat up.

"Bullet…? Oh, I must have fainted…!" Baek replied.

There was a moment of pause. No blood on his shirt. No exit wound. Seriously, there was a bullet hole that went from one side of the shirt to the other, without passing any of Baek in between.

"You…! I thought you were dead, I was- Oh my God, I'm going to kill you!" Hwoarang shouted, his red hair tumbling furiously over his face.

"Since I'm not dead, you're going to kill me? Does that make sense to you?" Baek asked, groaning as he stood up.

"Makes sense to me, that's my line of work," Nina quipped.

"You TRICKED me-!" Hwoarang shouted. "Ugh, I've never felt so betrayed in my LIFE!"

"You really need to get out more," Steve said with a raised eyebrow.

"We wouldn't be alive, any of us, if you guys hadn't come," Julia observed. She stood up, brushing off her lab coat. Her glasses were understandably loose after knocking down a half dozen Tekken Force, so she straightened them. "Thank you," she said, smiling gratefully.

"Don't blame me, it was his idea," Nina said, jerking her thumb towards Steve Fox.

"What?" Julia asked, her expression changing as she gave Steve a strange look.

"Saw you guys in that 'andy little television," Steve said, taking out Julia's video transmitter from the broom closet, and handing it to her. "Looked like you could have used a 'and."

"That's… thoughtful," Julia said, extremely surprised. Thoughtful wasn't something that one found very often in the halls of the Tekken Zaibatsu; especially not for matters of life and death.

"I figured I'd never find anything in that computer without ya," Steve explained. "Don't worry, it wasn't from the goodness of my own 'eart or anything like that…"

"You scared me for a minute there-!" Julia said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, cut the love fest guys. We've got Satan spawn who needs a "'and" a lot more than we do, and we've got to get from here to there," Hwoarang commanded.

"Yes sir-!" Nina mocked him. "What in the world do you want to help Kazama for?"

"I can't get my revenge if he's dead," Hwoarang said with a shrug.

"You had me going there for a minute, I thought you might have grown a heart," Baek chided.

"No fears on that one!" Julia said, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ouch, my soul hurts…" Hwoarang muttered."Alright, so we have to get us to wherever Jin is, and we have to do it quick-" Julia began.

"Woah woah woah, I'm not involved in any o' this," Steve said quickly. "I want to get into that computer and get out of here before someone like, sprouts wings or something."

Julia half-smiled at the irony of his little statement. "Fine, fair enough. I'll take you to the lab, and then I'll rendezvous with the rest of you later, while Steve can cut out before things really get ugly."

"Maybe you outta come too, seeing as your sister is trapped in there somewhere," Steve suggested.

"No." She said it shortly, sharply, and finally, and Nina clearly meant it. "We don't know where Jin is, how we will know where to rendezvous?" she pointed out, resting her hands on her hips and cocking her hip to one side as she changed the subject. "They'll be trying to get him either before or right after his match, they won't be giving him too many chances to get farther in the tournament. By the time Jin has his match, it could easily be too late."

Hwoarang half-laughed, crossing his arms across his chest and flipping his hair. "I know a way to solve this…" Everyone turned, giving him their full attention. "Xiaoyu's match is in the Nature preserve. If he's not near Xiaoyu… Xiaoyu will be able to find him. Or he'll find her."

"Alright. Her match is on now. By the time I finish with the computer database, it will be time for Jin's match with Kazuya. We'll rendezvous at the stadium, then?"

"I'm game," Nina said.

"Me too," Julia chimed in.

"I'm getting too old for this…" Baek murmured. Everyone turned to look at him. "Oh, no, don't worry, I'm still going. I'm just leaving most of the grunt work to you whipper snappers."

"…You just said whipper snappers. God, you're old," Hwoarang muttered.

"I did it for affect, thank you very much!" Baek shot back.

"Time to split. Good luck you two; we'll be heading onward," Nina said finally. The group nodded. Even though not a single one of them could consider all of the others friends, there was a bond there, something that seemed a little stronger. It was crisis time; there was no need to define friends and enemies here.

* * *

Nina was suspicious for a moment that she had come into the Swiss Family Robinson. The "amphitheatre," as it was called, was certainly not what she expected. Instead of benches surrounding a stage in a Coliseum like structure, it was a garden overrun by flora. Hwoarang pushed forward, walking through the slight courtyard the garden offered and going deeper. The stone slabs they were walking on disappeared and gave way to a complete forest, with a barbed wire fence impeding motion.

"Great," Nina muttered. "All we have is that stupid little television up there to tell us what's going on in there."

Hwoarang looked where Nina had gestured, and saw the screen. There were two dots: one was white with a touch of green, nearly disappearing into the background; the second was bright orange, and hunched down on her seat. Xiaoyu..

"She looks like she's in pain," Hwoarang observed, trying to sound casual.

"She's facing Bryan. She might as well be wearing read and shouting 'TORO!' I fought him once." Hwoarang looked at her curiously. "I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, looking away quickly.

"Yeah, well, she had damn well better win. It looks like two rounds down, one each," he said.

Nina looked at the scoreboard. So the little muse had managed to take down Bryan once. It must have been luck. He didn't fall easily. Of course, Nina couldn't hide how impressed she was. For a little, skinny, weakling, this girl was made of some strong stuff. If she ever stopped skipping down the straight and narrow, she might make a good assassin.

"Why is it so important that she wins, hmm? So you can go to the after party?" Nina muttered. "I'm sure she'd give you something of the Mishima Zaibatsu… you could even be towel boy."

"Hah. Towel boy. That's only fun if you're outside of the ladies locker room. Xiao might not give me anything," he replied, raising an eyebrow.

Nina watched him, examining his expression. He had looked away from the screen, doing all that he could to hide what he was thinking. He could tell, though, that Nina wasn't having any of it.

"You don't really think we can help Kazama, do you," Nina remarked.

Hwoarang scuffed his feet on the ground, flipping his hair out of his face before his brown eyes met her blue ones. "I don't think Jin has a snowball's chance in hell if she doesn't win." Nina watched him, not sure how to respond to that. Hwoarang sighed, and continued: "If we're so lucky that the Tekken Force hasn't already chased him down- which is possible, don't get me wrong, I've seen Jin do some crazy stuff- then there is no way we'll be able to find him. If they have, which… Well, We can't very well find him and chase him down before his match. They won't want him fighting Kazuya."

"And why not?" Nina asked, crossing her arms.

"… There's something weird going on, I don't know if YOU noticed, but it's the same weird thing that got good ol' Kazuya to crawl from the belly of Hell through a volcano with just a scratch, I mean, as tough as I am I don't think I could do that. Same things up with Mr. Blast-through-dead-bolts," he said, smiling slightly to himself. He flipped his hair again, even if it wasn't in his face, before continuing. "I have a feeling… the two of them together..? That's a lot of whatever you call it, gumption maybe, in one place. Heihachi wouldn't want that, he'll be doing all he can to keep Jin from meeting Kazuya. I'm not sure exactly how Xiao factors in-"

"Woah woah woah, this is my area here, okay?" Nina said suddenly. "I just saved that girl from an assassination attempt."

"You?" Hwoarang asked skeptically.

"Yeah, me. Heihachi decided to send a hit man after Princess Pigtails. Jin sent _me_ to keep her safe," Nina explained. She suddenly seemed a little self-conscious, rapping her fingers on her forearm and fidgeting with her feet. "Jin said that Heihachi didn't want her around for the 'finale.' Whatever that means. I still don't see why it's so important that she win."

"If she wins," Hwoarang said emphatically, "we have a woman on the inside. If you haven't noticed, we don't have a lot of friends in the finals! Jin? Psssht, I wouldn't call him a friend, even if I'm trying to save him. Kazuya? Heihachi? If Bryan's in there with Jin, it'll just be one more grim punch in the face."

"And Jin gets his muse," Nina replied.

Hwoarang's expression darkened, and Nina could tell she overstepped her bounds. Why should he care, though? What was this girl other than trouble, wrapping him up deeper with Jin and that whole mess? There was a lull in the conversation Each of them was reviewing the dire possibilities, lists, thoughts, and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets whipping by like the printers for newspapers. Slowly, a thought occurred to Hwoarang of something he thought he may have missed, something that struck him as odd.

"Say, why didn't you want to go with pretty boy British guy anyway? You seemed just a little emphatic," Hwoarang asked.

* * *

Julia was seated in the chair, Steve resting his elbows on the headrest and watching over her shoulder. Anna, still tied up on the floor with the extension cord, was still unconscious, bathed in the light of the enormous screen. The only sound was the gentle, crisp click of a keyboard as Julia's fingers flew across the letters, cracking security codes, maneuvering firewalls… Steve was understandably impressed.

"Remind me to check my bank account when I got home; you've obviously done this before," he remarked.

"Hobby of mine. Fortunately, I only use it for legal means…" she explained.

"Hah, like hacking the Mishima Zaibatsu's personal files?" he asked.

"The Mishima Zaibatsu redefines 'legal,'" Julia observed with a smile. "Here we are, we're in the genetics data bank. There's got to be some sort of file on all of the fighters here; they do a pretty thorough job on their illicit background checks. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew more about us than we do. Here we are: Steve Fox."

* * *

"I guess…" Nina started, preparing to answer one of the most difficult questions she had been given in her life. "I just don't want to be there when that boy discovers who his parents really are. There will be some shock involved, and I don't want to be a part of it."

* * *

Steve felt a moment where pressure seemed to be building up inside of him. This was it. The nervousness mounted up into his chest. It was nervousness, wasn't it? What did he have to be afraid of? Probably two names he'd never heard of, somewhere in the backstreets of England, beggars, paupers or graves overlooked by anyone who passed them.

Julia guided the mouse down the page, watching the information fly past. There, under his page, she finally found it: Family History. "You ready for this?" she asked.

"I was born ready…" Steve replied, watching the screen intensely as the cursor found the link and the crisp click of the mouse guided him to finally found out, to finally know who he was and where he came from. This was it, he thought as the computer loaded.

When the page came up, and he saw the picture of his family. His throat closed. Julia covered her mouth, knitting her eyebrows together to make sure, ensure she didn't misclick and that this wasn't all one big joke. But there it all was, in the blue and white scheme of the computer monitor.

* * *

"What's wrong with his parents?" Hwoarang snorted. "What could be more shocking? They're not like, the president of Uganda and a Swedish milk maid or something, right?" He paused, examining Nina's guarded expression. Her face was stone set, and a thought came to him. "Wait, how do you know who his parents are anyway?"

There was something bright in her eyes; he couldn't identify it until it rolled down her cheek, leaving a trail like a snail. She looked like a statue in the rain. Stiff, stoic, and certainly not crying. Tears just happened to be sneaking out of the corner of her eyes. "I don't want to be there when he finds out I'm his mother," she said. Her voice was thick, but she stood proud.

Hwoarang couldn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say, really. It was fortunate the announcer took that privilege from him, and said "BRYAN FURY, LING XIAOYU. ROUND 3! FIGHT!"


	27. Chapter 27: Too Nuts for the Squirrels

**Chapter Twenty Seven: ****Too Nuts for the Squirrels**

Xiaoyu had to jump right into it. She knew that. Her body was screaming at her not to, because jumping into the foot that was coming towards her tender diaphragm really didn't seem like a good idea, but it was the only idea. Diving under Bryan's impending kick, Xiaoyu swooped down low and tripped him up. Bryan hit the dirt.

_Don't let him get up,_ a dark voice in the back of her mind ordered. It was too late the moment he hit the ground, though, because he caught the momentum of his fall and rolled backwards. He was just out of hitting distance for her. With a smile, he charged forward again.

Desperately sidestepping, Xiaoyu managed to land a small smack on his back. It sounded like one of those butt-pats from a football player, which clearly didn't faze him much; he just stopped, pointed his elbow and rammed it backwards into her stomach.

Briefly reminded of what she had for dinner, Xiaoyu stumbled backwards with a grunt. He turned to punch her again, and she ducked, bringing the heel of her hand into his stomach, turning, and hitting again. Bryan must have felt it; but he didn't care. He brought his knee up quick, and caught her in the chin, knocking her backwards.

_This isn't what I had in mind…! _Xiaoyu thought desperately. She rolled to the side before he could land another kick on her, and she sprung as far away as possible to catch her bearings. Bryan pushed forward as quickly as a deer with the power of an ox. _This simply isn't fair-!_ Nimbly diving aside, Xiaoyu ducked her shoulder to roll away from being trampled by Bryan, merely a moment in front of him.

He was fast. He was strong. She had trained for years to get speed, and she could pack something of a punch- but not enough. Her stamina would expire sooner or later, and if she didn't get him hard-

BAM!- he would hit her hard. As valiant of an effort Xiaoyu had given with side-stepping, Bryan had clearly foreseen this evasive tactic and landed a fist in her chest and two more in her stomach. She twirled to the side as quickly as she could and rammed her elbow into his back. At worst, he stumbled a little. Unfortunately, that wasn't so bad for him.

Losing reservation, Xiaoyu did the best thing she could- she ran. She ran straight for the tree, and she could sense those cold eyes the moment he had turned around. They were shooting optical arrows into her back. Going the way of the squirrel, she leapt to the nearest tree, and scrambled up to the lowest branch just as Bryan began gaining on her again.

_At least I didn't get run over-!_ She thought first. _Is this allowed…?_ quickly followed, acceded by _Does it matter…?_ Bryan seemed briefly to be at a loss. She was sure some neuro circuits in his head were analyzing his best course of action. Unfortunately, the best course of action at the moment was beyond Xiaoyu- she was dangling from a tree with a superhuman beast planning the best way to squash her. At the moment? She was improvising at best.

Once the confusion fell from his face, Xiaoyu knew she was in trouble. He jumped up into the tree, and she had less than a moment to jump down as he was going up and run to the next tree, scaling it up further to get a higher branch. Bryan, footing insecure on the thin branch across the way narrowed his eyes and jumped down, coming to her tree.

"I can do this," she couched herself.

Crunch. That was a baaad sound. The tree swayed dangerously, sweeping Xiaoyu with the smell of air rushing past and leaves tickling the side of her face. Bryan looked up again, saw she had held on, and rammed the tree again. Being higher up, she was swaying precariously. Clinging to her branch, she waited until the tree shook again and took a ridiculously far jump to the next tree. The air was beneath her, the light was peeking through the branches above her, and her fingers desperately clutched at smooth air- and then bark. She had never been so grateful for bark in her life. Pulling herself up, she crawled from branch to branch- lower, higher, faster- until she was far enough away from Bryan to drop to the ground.

He was running towards her, watching the trees for the oversized orange squirrel, and Xiaoyu took advantage of him not noticing her on the ground to hit him in the nose with a stiff kick. He hit the floor, and gave her a look so filled with malice she was sure her spirit briefly shriveled up.

"Your antics…" he began, wheezing only slightly as fury poured from his eyes. "End now. As do you, Ling Xiaoyu!"

Springing to his feet, he plowed forward with more speed than she had ever seen in him. Xiaoyu ducked, barely, him missing one shot and landing the next and the next. Rolling back, she felt the wind approaching her as Bryan charged closer again, in complete abandon of everything. Xiaoyu ran, skipped, jumped, ducked, dove, rolled, twirled, twisted, leapt, crept, and slid to avoid any contact that Bryan's crushing appendages could potentially make with her.

She recognized this. Her lungs were burning. Her eyes would tear up if she didn't wipe them, her muscles would twitch with tiredness if she paused for a moment. Pain was pretty much becoming constant, and her vibrantly colored costume had dusted so darkly with dirt that she wouldn't be surprised if Bryan wouldn't be able to see her anymore. This was exactly what happened before she lost the last time. By the time her pigtails fell out, she knew she was delaying the inevitable. But the fire inside her stubbornly held on in spite of the fire in every inch of her body.

Bryan paused. Xiaoyu wasn't expecting that, and she watched his expression unfathomably darken. Then, with barely a hesitation of motion, he stepped forward and kicked with incredible speed. Xiaoyu tried to dive, but her jump only made her go farther when Bryan's foot connected with her spine and sent her tumbling to the ground. Her body seemed to like lying there. It complained horribly when she struggled to her knees. She was practically waiting for the next hit, and she knew it, but she couldn't force herself to move again. As Bryan moved next, Xiaoyu watched him come, and she was so certain she wasn't getting enough oxygen, because as her head spun time seemed to slow down, and Bryan came step…. by step…. by step…. closer to her as her heart somehow beat faster beat… by beat…. by beat.

He probably wouldn't stop until she was on the ground, unconscious, dead, or whatever it took for him to move on. Hmm. So the face of her death looked like Rutger Hauer. Weird. He lunged to the ground, Xiaoyu wasn't sure what this odd touch was, but she was sure it didn't bode well.

That is, until Bryan hit the ground and stopped moving.

Xiaoyu was still there, hands on knees, heart racing, as Bryan lay less than a foot from her, not moving. Was he breathing? Did he need to breathe? The thought hadn't occurred to her before, but it was possible. The counter started going, and Xiaoyu felt a slight, queasy and surreal sensation. Was he seriously out? No, she must have hit her head harder than she thought. She touched him briefly. Sweat and body heat met her fingers. _Ew__-! Not dreaming-!_ She thought, wiping her hand on the ground.

"ROUND THREE, LING XIAOYU!" the speaker barked.

"WHAT?!" Xiaoyu shouted back. There was a confused silence in the forest. "That's IT?!" She looked at Bryan. The first match sprang to mind, and she felt her skin crawl a little as she remembered how they had to use a defibrillator to jump start him. "That's not…. That's not _FAIR!_" she couldn't help but say.

She felt rough hands suddenly grab her shoulders and pull her to her feet. She stumbled alongside the rough hands that held her up, hardly looking at them, just watching her feet for stray roots or limbs that could trip her up. Her head was spinning, and as they walked through the fence she wasn't entirely sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Xiaoyu?" a familiar voice entreated.

"There's our warrior princess," another one muttered.

A third familiar growl caught her ear.

Now she _knew_ she was dreaming.

"Hwoarang? Nina? Panda?" she asked, looking up. Sure enough, they were standing there, underneath a TV monitor that panned to a news room with two people in suits discussing "predictions" for a fighting competition. The people carrying her out didn't hesitate for pleasantries. They pushed on as if no one had said anything.

Trotting, Hwoarang caught up to her. "That was an…. Interesting match," Hwoarang commented.

"Interesting is a polite way of saying we didn't expect you to win," Nina translated.

"No! Well, I mean, it looked bad, but I knew you could do it," Hwoarang said with a smile. "I mean, you had a perfectly good grasp of what was happening right in front of you the whole time, didn't you?"

Xiaoyu looked up at him. "I guess, I mean, it's hard to focus sometimes, he kept throwing punches, but… but…" What was right in front of her? Hwoarang. Panda. Nina. There was no Jin or Heihachi to be found. So where was she focusing if this was was what was right in front of her?

"But…?" Hwoarang prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"I… Wow, I'm really sorry if I ever did anything… mean," she said suddenly.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrow somehow finding its way further up his forehead. "You and mean don't seem to have a lot in common"

"Bryan may disagree," Nina pointed out.

"Yeah, I mean… I don't hate you," she admitted. It felt like it was more for her own benefit than anyone else. "I _never_ did, I mean, you're keen on surviving, I get that, and…" she laughed softly at this. "Your motorcycle was a lot of fun."

Hwoarang laughed. "Are you sure they haven't given you painkillers yet?"

"Why…?" Xiaoyu asked.

"You're high as a kite!"

Xiaoyu waited for that to process. Her mind stumbled over it, and as it sunk in, she just started laughing. It felt so good to laugh, even if her diaphragm ached and her breathing was hard. "I think I'm high on life!" she gasped. She was so sure it was over, that just a few more punches and it would all go black, but it hadn't. "I'm just so happy…! To be alive..!" _Unlike Bryan_ the dark voice in the back of her mind probed.

"Miss, please, keep walking," one of her escorts said.

"Look, can't you see she needs medical attention?" Nina snapped.

"Unfortunately, there has been suspicious activity involved with the local hospital. The ambulance can't be trusted, so we're improvising," the guard replied stoically.

"Improvising?" Hwoarang asked. They approached an out building at the Mishima Zaibatsu, one that Hwoarang had never seen before. Taking her inside, Hwoarang looked at Nina, who was watching the closed door with an unfathomable expression.

"What do you think?" she asked, examining the exterior of the building they had come to. The door was humble dark wood, and the windows, curiously enough, had red velvet curtains hung inside. The roof was tall, for an outbuilding, and it had all of the seeming of a glorified shack.

"Only actors improvise. They're lying," Hwoarang murmured.

"I'm thinking we need to go 'Whose Line is it Anyway' on their ass," Nina agreed.

* * *

" 'Absconded' one of my fighters? Am I hearing you correctly?" Heihachi asked. He massaged his forehead, just above his bushy eyebrows. 

"Yes, sir," the unfortunate messenger confirmed, eyes watching his feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"No," Heihachi insisted. "A fighter hasn't been absconded, I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. First of all, you probably don't even know what the word really means, because when a Tekken fighter is _absconded_ people find themselves in unnecessarily painful situations. Got it?"

His feet just got more interesting. "Yes sir, but-"

"No buts. The missing were intended to be found. The matches must go on as planned, and they will, whether or not you and your commanding officer are in good enough condition to see them." Heihachi stood up, slamming his fist on the table. Fury curled around his face. "Got it?"

* * *

"Why do they call it a ring?" Steve Fox mused, looking from his spot on the bleachers. "When it is, in fact, a square." 

"It's too hip to be square, that's why," Julia replied. People were everywhere. Seriously, everywhere. This was an off-Zaibatsu location, and there were security officers, there were tourists and there were fanatics. She could have sworn she saw about seven Xiaoyu's wandering around, one of whom was overweight and four of whom were clearly not 18. All the same, there was an enormous cage in the middle of the ring, and no one would be allowed any closer than ten feet towards the fighters. "You know, you don't have to stick around anymore, I mean, we already found-" Julia stopped.

"I figured it wouldn't be safe to leave ya alone, s'all," Steve said nonchalantly. But she read his face. It was the same expression he had worn when the computer screen told him the truth about his heritage. The moment he saw Nina Williams' name, he got that expression. He wasn't really here to keep her safe. He was holding out for Nina to arrive.

"Sure," she said, playing along. Sitting back, she dipped her head back and groaned. "Damn, there goes another stupid Hwoarang cosplayer!""Cos-whater?" Steve asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Cosplay, you know, costume playing, dress up like it's hallow-freakin'-ween and act like they're famous," Julia muttered. She looked up just in time to see a girl in a short jean skirt, cowboy boots, Indian feathers in her ponytail and a bare midriff. "Why the little-! She can't even pull off that outfit-!" Julia muttered, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Yes, you'd definitely look a lot better in that," Steve observed, wrinkling his nose.

Julia wasn't sure whether to hit him or change the subject. "What time is it?" she asked tactfully.

"It's five after eight, and the match starts-" Steve stopped.

"…Five minutes ago," Julia finished.

This wasn't like Heihachi. If there was anything he loved more than money, it was showmanship, and though keeping a crowd in suspense worked for some people, it wasn't Heihachi's cup of tea. Everything was on time, lest his precious schedule be knocked helter skelter into an abyss of chaos.

"Maybe something…" …went wrong? Steve didn't have to finish it, and he didn't want to. He noticed Julia's expression intensify.

"It could… Well, it could be a suspense heist. Heihachi knows this is a high-stakes match, he wouldn't spare any chance to get the audience just a little more riled up, you know?" Julia suggested, fixing her ponytail as she saw another imposter with her ponytail crocked agonizingly to one side.

"Yeah," Steve agreed, folding his hands behind his head. "Just you wait, 'e'll be 'ere."

But the count was on, and Julia knew it. Five minutes late turned into seven, and seven drifted past eight, nine, and ten with agonizing lackluster. Still the ring stood, empty, caged, and just as eerie as it had ever been. Eleven. Twelve. Julia could feel the clump in her chest. Should she look for Jin? Where were the others? Had Xiaoyu won? But most importantly, what was going on?

Finally, a cloaked form appeared from one of the dressing room doors. As if on cue, the crowd stood and screamed their appreciation. Julia jumped to her feet and whooped as she hadn't since her days in Arizona. "He's here!" she exclaimed, relief washing over her.

"Is 'e there in that cloak?" Steve asked, trying to look over the poster someone had raised in front of his face.

"It must be him! He's coming towards the ring, there are several security guards and the announcer with him. Hallelujiah-!" throwing her arms around Steve's neck and gave him a firm hug, waving her fist in the air. "YES!"

The cage door opened, and the fighter and announcer entered. Julia looked towards the other dressing room expectantly. What good was a fight without a challenger? Then a wonderful thought hit her.

"Maybe Kazuya didn't come!" she suddenly raved. "Maybe he was late, so Jin wins by default!"

Steve didn't say anything, he just watched as the announcer, an odd little man with purple hair, put a microphone to his mouth.

"Welcome ladies and gentleman!" he announced. It wasn't the same voice, Julia recognized that instantly. For one thing, this man was a tenor. For another, the old announcer didn't have purple hair. And lastly? What was with all the pleasantries? Something very unpleasant was up for sure. "I'm Violet, former fighter in the King of the Iron Fist Four Tournament!" he crowed.

"THIS ISN'T YOUR MATCH!" Julia heckled.

"Easy, love, it isn't yours either…" Steve hushed.

"Sadly, by some unfortunate turn of events, one of our fighters failed to show up this evening," Violet continued, his white overalls catching the light on the stage as members of the crowd booed and hissed. "It's unfortunate that Kazuya will not be able to participate in his match with the lack of an opponent."

"Lack of an opponent?" Suddenly, Julia realized that the cloaked figure with the spiky hair wasn't Jin after all. Before she even had a chance to ask the question, she felt a hand on her forearm, and she looked up to see Nina leaning over the person next to her.

"We have to go. Now," she said authoritatively. Without hesitation, Julia picked up her purse and slid out of the row, nimbly descending the stairs. Nina's eyes rested on Steve Fox.

He had her eyes.

And they were watching her mistrustfully.

"We'll talk later," she said below her breath, heading down the stairs.

"Indeed…" Steve replied. He waited merely a moment, before dashing down the stairs and following her out of the arena. He looked over for one brief moment, back to Kazuya and Violet in the middle of his tirade, before leaving the premise.

There was work to be done.

**

* * *

**

**To my faithful reviewers, you are just as awesome to me as squirrels, though admittedly less nuts. The big twists are coming together, and so is the romance, so stick around- I will garunteed be done by the end of 2007; you can count on it:-) **

**Oh, and welcome back Karisan:-)**


	28. Chapter 28: Confections? Infectious

**Chapter Twenty-Eigh****t:**** Confections? ****Infectious.**

Outside of Xiaoyu's comfortable prison, the hired toughs were earning their money the old fashioned way; looking tough. Shoulders squared out as they played tough card games like Poker and Old Maid, they were passing the time while making sure no one tried anything stupid. Like challenging two tough guys, for example.

"Hell yeah!" one of them cried, slamming down two Kings. "Practically a royal sweep!"

"There are no royal sweeps in _Babe-__Nuki_." The other one looked down at his hand, as if searching for pairs he had missed. "I can't believe we've sunk this low…"

"Yeah, you are losin' pretty bad." The first one watched his partner closely as he reached down and grabbed another card. Glancing casually over his shoulder, however, a flash of color caught his eyes. "Hey, what's black and white and pink all over?"

Having a little too much pride to guess anything Barbie related, the other man just rolled his eyes heftily and said "you after a sex change?"

"That goddamn polar bear, that's what-!" the man said, eyes wide.

Looking over, the two toughs definitely saw a bear in all of its glory. "There's a panda bear," the partner said incredulously.

Wearing her pink bow and bracelets, Panda cocked her head adorably to one side.

"I never seen one of these-!" The man said, completely forgetting about the game in front of him. "Geez, it's huge-!"

Panda stood up as if on cue, producing three bright pink juggling balls. Nimbly rolling them off of her paws and tossing them into the air as high as she could to catch them as they came tumbling back down, Panda jumped from foot to foot as an added bit of theatrics. Two jaws dropped as the toughs watched, abashed.

"Well, I never-!" the first one said.

"Why the hell is there a panda… standing here…. Juggling?!" the other one raved.

"Why you gotta be like this? How many people get to see a juggling polar bear in their lifetime?" the first snapped.

"I—Wait, did you just say polar? Man, it's a PANDA bear-!"

"You can't be serious, all the way from Antarctica? Yeah right."

"… Some days, you just make this job much more difficult than necessary."

"What's that supposed to mean?! You're the one always picking fights-!"

"This could be EASY, just sit and watch the girl, make sure the girl doesn't leave, make sure no one gets inside, a perfectly easy task, and you go and get DISTRACTED-" His eyes widened. "Distraction…" The panda bear was gone. Gone until it leapt out from around the side of the building again, swinging its pink ribboned paws with a vengeance.

* * *

Baek tread as lightly as he could in the room. Dim light leaked through the bottom of the curtains. Thick, red curtains. A small bottle of pills labeled "Rohypnol" sat on a desk Did she take that? Rich Maplewood furniture stood proudly, with Xiaoyu's small, brightly colored form in the center of a crimson bedcover. 

"This isn't at all ominous…" Baek muttered.

"What, what's in there?!" Hwoarang put his hands on the windowsill and lifted himself up to see inside.

"Get down, boy-!" Baek demanded, stiffening. The last thing they needed was attention, especially in an illicit affair like this. Hurrying into the middle of the room, Baek leaned over, and gently lifted Xiaoyu off of the bed. She didn't groan or shift at all when he lifted her small frame. That was a bad sign.

"Hurry up in there!" Hwoarang's voice was a harsh whisper. The sound of Julia's palm hitting the back of Hwoarang's head was soothing to Baek. He carried the incapacitated Xiaoyu to the window, and sitting on the sill, lowered her with infinite care to Hwoarang down below.

Julia watched as Hwoarang settled one arm under Xiaoyu's knees with the other supporting her head. Once Baek stepped out of the window, she nodded to the two men: "Let's go."

Nina waited, the engine humming, in her car. Steve was sitting in the back seat, avoiding eye contact with the rearview mirror. Neither of them said anything; there wasn't much to be said. They had a lot of Christmases and Birthdays to catch up on, and in the middle of a search and rescue, there simply wasn't a chance. Not that either of them would have taken the chance, if it walked right up and sat in the front seat.

"I call shotgun," Baek said, jumping into the front seat suddenly.

"Yeah right, you have no idea where we're going-!" Julia protested, clutching at his shoulder to try and pull him out.

"Just the hospital, right?" Baek smiled coyly. Julia glared and backed down, hopping into the middle of the back seat next to Steve.

"So, what do you do with an unconscious Chinese girl in a four door Honda sedan?" Hwoarang mused, peering into the back seat.

"Same thing you do with any other type of girl, you put 'em in the trunk!" Nina had her arm on the ledge of her window, tapping the side of her car with her sharp nails.

"Yeah right, she'd probably die," Hwoarang said.

"Just lay her down on our laps back here, we'll just have to hold her and hope Nina doesn't crash into something," Julia suggested.

There wasn't another option, so Hwoarang acquiesced and gently sat down, lifting Xiaoyu awkwardly and resting her across the three fighters in the back.

"Why do I get the feet?" Steve complained, wrinkling his nose.

"It's the end that came in first, a'ight, what're you complaining about? I have to make sure she doesn't get a concussion!" Hwoarang snapped.

"Okay, okay guys, keep it calm. Yeesh, no wonder hospitals use ambulances…" Julia crossed her arms and rested them on Xiaoyu's side, shrinking into as small a space as she can in the center of the car seat.

With a flick of her hand, Nina took off the emergency break and pulled out quickly, watching Panda running off into the woods in her rearview mirror. "Trouble could be coming any minute. Let's get this done." With that, she flew down the road on the way to Shinjuku Hospital.

* * *

Xiaoyu woke up in a hospital bed. She didn't think that normally happened when a person passed out, but she never was a normal person, so she was sure her standards were skewed. The smell in the room reminded her curiously of her childhood. What was that silly cartoon character's name? Strawberry Cream Pie? Strawberry Mousse? Oh, Strawberry Shortcake. Seeing no cake or strawberries though, Xiaoyu wasn't even sure she could trust her own senses. 

The smell was quickly replaced, however, by a pungently clean smell. Her nose knew this smell of a million bloody noses and sinus infections. What was she doing in a hospital? Wasn't the hospital not safe? Sitting up quickly, she felt a surge of panic. She was surrounded by a curtain, one of those ones that curved around a patient's bed. She was still wearing her clothes- that was a good sign.

"Woah woah woah, easy there sleeping beauty," a voice said. A familiar voice. She had been hearing a lot of those lately; schizophrenia sprang to mind. She saw Baek peeking his head around the corner. The image slipped and changed as her eyes adjusted to the light. No, it was Hwoarang.

"Pummeled," Xiaoyu answered with a little laugh, subconsciously touching her stomach. "Where's the doctor?"

"He'll be here eventually, they only just put you here, you know…" he came in and sat at the far end of her bed. Instinctively, Xiaoyu pulled her legs up closer to her chest.

Dropping her voice to a whisper, she leaned forward and asked "So they didn't harvest my organs?"

Hwoarang stared at her wide-eyed expression. "… No. Although I think they may have made off with your brain," he replied, flicking her forehead.

Xiaoyu rapped his shoulder, and he laughed a little. "I thought there was something wrong with the hospital, isn't it dangerous here?"

"The only danger was the two guys who brought you to an out of the way cabin to be confined." Hwoarang pulled up one leg onto the bed, tossing his hair. "Once we got you out of there, we got you here for medical attention."

"Hm," Xiaoyu said, nodding. "Why do you think they took me to Lee's house, anyway?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

Hwoarang was ninety percent certain she wasn't all there. He could tell that Xiaoyu was soaring a little farther in outer space than she normally was, and he couldn't put his finger on why. "Are you… are you sure that was Lee's house?" he asked.

"Yeah. Jin called it 'the shack,' or something like that, he told me that I would be a lot happier not to go in there. Of course I did, you know, when no one was around, but it was just a really nice little outhouse thingy with a big bathtub, nice bed… Why do you figure they brought me there?"

What the Hell did Lee want with Xiao.

Had Hwoarang checked his pulse, he may have thought it stopped for that moment. Fortunately, he wasn't thinking of that, because he was distracted by another terrifying prospect that had just entered his radar. "What did they do once you got inside…?" he asked slowly.

"They just put me on the bed, and I think… I think I fell asleep right away, I'm honestly not sure… I think I may have had a confession or something…" Xiaoyu rubbed her head. She looked like a piece of paper that Bryan had doodled on with pens, with her black and blues spreading like ink on her colorless skin.

"What do you need to confess?" Hwoarang asked, confused and concerned.

"What…? No, a confession, like, ow, my head hurts, a confession," she explained.

"What? OH! Oh, you mean a CONCUSSION," he explained, so relieved she was only talking about head trauma. "Thank God-!" Xiaoyu nodded. All the same, she couldn't see a concession stand anywhere.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, rocking from side to side. She looked so lost, her eyes uncharacteristically wide as she was formulating sense from things. He could tell her eyes were out of focus. Why in the world was that?

"Playing both sides of the fence, as it were," Hwoarang replied.

Xiaoyu didn't see a fence, but she took his word for it.

Meanwhile, Nina was milling around far away from the curtain, and the waiting room, wandering from hallway to hallway and finally resting on a bench by the vending machines. She was so confused. Everything was muddled up, and she couldn't make sense of it. Like someone had just taken her brain right out of her head and used it as a speed bag. Thinking like that gave her a headache, though. She wouldn't be a slave to her emotions, no, not her. She would rationalize it, and overcome it.

And she would do it all right next to this Pepsi machine.

Leaning her back against it, she turned over everything- absolutely everything!- that was swirling around, kneading it like dough. There was Hwoarang and their "friendship," Jin's proposition, Xiaoyu the unexpected wondergirl, Steve Fox-

When she heard the sound of quarters entering the Pepsi machine, she nearly jumped. Steve peered around, looking at her incredulously as he continued to add his money. "G'day."

"Yeah, hi." Nina huddled back into her corner of the bench, tucking her high heeled feet beside her thighs and crossing her arms across her chest.

"The drama continues as we add another layer to the massive onion attacking our own Ling Xiaoyu," Steve said with a half smile. "Seems like some 'Lee' is in on the whole thing."

"That metrosexual?" Nina muttered. "I thought he'd be too busy doing his hair."

"Y'know, for someone so good natured as little Xiao, she seems to attract a lot of negativity." Steve sat down on the floor beside the bench, stretching out his legs and resting his toes against the Pepsi machine. "Oooh, vibrates…"

"Like a massage chair… God, I need a massage…" Nina moaned, resting her head back against the Pepsi machine.

The silence was suddenly filled with questions that should be asked, conversations that should be had. Instead, there was only the gentle whirr of the vending machine and the occasional gulps of Steve downing a Diet Pepsi.

"'Ow old are you?" Steve asked suddenly.

"… I didn't hurt you, what are you saying 'ow' on me for?"

Steve groaned, tossing his head back. "Oh, you Americans, think you're all so clever, 'Oooh, Mr. Fox can't say ' 'ot' or ' 'ow' like a normal person, let's make fun of him! An entire nation of smart asses…" he muttered.

"I'm Irish." Nina hid a small smile behind a tuft of her bangs.

He paused, wrinkling his forehead. "Since when?"

"Since 47 years ago, when I was born."

"Huh. So I'm part Irish. You don't look forty seven, you know," Steve replied. He leaned forward, setting his soda on the floor next to him and propping his hand on his thigh.

"I'm not."

"Wait, but you said—Oh, there you go again, being all enigmatic! Just be normal for five minutes, will you?" There was a tinge of real irritation behind his joking tone.

"Normal? My body is 21 years old. Twenty one years old. How old are you, Mr. Fox? Hmm? 21. I checked your profile. We could be lovers, siblings, twins, but definitely not your mother. No, THAT is not normal." She pulled her legs up closer to her, her knuckles turning white around the black vinyl of her pants. "I can't remember anything before Chryosleep… I wouldn't even have half the memories you have, and I'm forty seven… or twenty one… I may not have been born yesterday, but it truly feels like it."

"Hmm. That is a little weird when you put it that way," Steve observed, taking another gulp of his soda. "You didn't have to throw lovers in there, that just makes it bizarre."

"Trying to make a point, STEVE."

"So you don't 'ave any idea what 'appened, you know, 'ow I showed up in all of this mess then?" Steve asked. He propped his head against the side of the bench, looking at the wall on the other side of the hall.

"Not a clue. Sorry," Nina replied, propping her head against the wall.

A long pause followed, and only the distant sound of footsteps on the tile sounded by. To all the world, they did look like a brother and sister pair, here to see a relative in dire condition. Their faces stone set, the same eyes, the same defined jawline, the same hair. Oedipus had nothing on this.

"It doesn't matter too much who we're related to in the end," Nina began slowly. "Being without a family, I suppose it does make you disconnected, but that happens to everyone. Independence. Death. Falling out. In a way, we have so much pain spared, just by being like this. We can't pick up our parents' bad habits or alcoholism, grow up to be just like our mothers who we despised growing up… It's almost like a blank slate, and I like it that way."

"Poetic," Steve replied. "Just riddle me this… why do I look so much like Jin then?"

Nina sat up quickly, looking at Steve. He looked back at her quietly; this was obviously not a new thought to him. She hadn't realized how uncanny it was. The hair? Coincidence? She wasn't entirely sure if she thought so.

"OH MY GOSH!" Julia said loudly, leaning around the vending machine. "That's it!"

A collective scream hit Nina and Steve as their heart to heart broke and they stared almost in panic at Julia's looming face.

"When did YOU get there?!" Nina demanded.

" 'Ow long 'ave you BEEN there?!" Steve demanded.

"Why are you saying 'ow,' I didn't hurt you!" Julia chided.

Narrowing his eyes, Steve muttered "Bloody Americans…"

"Wow, I just got here to get a Twinkie, is that such a crime?" Julia leaned over, taking her prize out of the vending machine next to the Pepsi machine, waving the Twinkie triumphantly as evidence.

"Well, Miss. Fly-On-The-Wall, what's your epiphany then?" Nina got back into her reclined position, tossing her hair casually as if she had never lost her grace for a moment.

"There is only one reason the Mishima Zaibatsu would want to have anything to do with genetics." Julia trailed her eyes from Nina to Steve, just to make sure they were listening. "The Devil Gene. I'll bet you anything they tried to reproduce the Devil Gene, and when you didn't have it, they got rid of you."

"Very sensitive," Steve muttered.

"What in the Devil's name is the Devil Gene?" Nina sat up, leaning towards Julia.

"If you don't know, you don't want to know," Julia said mysteriously.

"Wait a sec… you didn't leave that boy and that girl alone, did you?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, of course not, Baek is supervising." Julia cocked her hip and took a victory bite out of her Twinkie.

"You know, when you mentioned Twinkies I thought about it and I decided to check and see if they had little Debbie Cakes," Baek said from behind her.

Julia's eyes widened. She didn't even bother to turn around and look from the moment she heard Baek's voice. "Excuse me," she said as she turned and ran back to the hospital room.

"Aw nuts, only Pocky. Oh well, I love this stuff-" Baek looked around, from Nina to Steve. "Where'd she go?"

* * *

"So the girl is gone," Lee muttered, massaging his forehead. 

"Yeah, but I got to see a polar bear," the guard said proudly.

Lee looked at him. One might have thought he had just changed color, the intensity Lee examined him with. "Oh. How lovely." He smiled a very forced, crinkly smile. Whatever resembled handsome on his face wrinkled away. He suddenly looked 48, no matter how much he looked like a Japanese pop star.

"It was."

"Excuse me sir," the guard's partner piped up. "But in all fairness, we were attacked by a Panda bear, we deserve some sympathy."

"Panda? You two might want to get your story straight, if you want me to buy something as far-fetched as that." Lee paused. His expression was the same as the one he wore when he did his robotics. It was a look of unadulterated concentration. "I believe it. Pandas and Xiaoyu seem to have a lot in common. Whatever. She took the Rohypnol; hopefully, she'll be just loopy enough for this to work… I gave her a small dosage. The sedative won't set in for a little while now, but when it does, we'll be able to make our move."

And there would be no Jin to come sweeping in and making sure it wouldn't. Heihachi had made sure of that.


	29. Chapter 29: Ultimateum

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ultimate-um**

Video file databases were probably the bane of Julia's existence. All of the same, she found herself entangled in a passionate love-hate relationship with them. As useful as it was to manipulate the videos to show whatever she so desired to the enemy, she found that they enjoyed doing that to her as well.

So, here she was, browsing a video library on the computer mainframe to find some existence of a familiar face she always found herself looking for: Jin Kazama.

He was just as elusive online as he was in real life.

And data retrieval was about as frustrating when it came to getting information from it.

"So Princess, any luck?" Nina was applying a fresh coat of nail polish on the state of the art computer processor.

"It's pulling up some things," Julia murmured. "See, there's the footage I erased from the Korean military's little visit."

"Wait, I thought that was erased, like, done done erased."

"Computers have superior memories; they never forget. Everything has a footprint or fingerprint somewhere, and the impression has already been made," Julia explained. She could relate to that; sometimes she felt like her memory worked that way. She was getting to the point where all she was doing was loading individual surveillance cameras, and seeing innumerable crowds of tourists zip by the hotel hallways for every hour since the competition started was not exciting.

"What exactly are we hoping to find?" Nina crossed her ankles on a swivel chair, her spike heels poking the fabric.

That was the tricky part. She could be looking for a shoe going around a corner, someone entering a room suspiciously… odds were she wouldn't find a video of Tekken Force soldiers beating Jin down in the middle of a crowded hotel hallway, and for all she knew Jin was just wandering around fancy free as if absolutely nothing had happened. Just off camera. "That's the tricky part…" Julia didn't particularly feel like explaining.

Nina nodded, letting out a sigh as she stared at the ceiling. Steve, Baek, and Hwoarang were dividing and conquering, and frankly Nina didn't want to be alone with her supposed kin, someone else's mentor, or her former love interest. Meditating and refreshing her nail polish was good enough for her.

"Interesting," Julia said suddenly.

"What?" Nina asked, leaning forward.

"Hmm? Oh, they have surveillance of a couple of bedrooms too, nothing too interesting," Julia answered.

_Depends on the bedroom_, Nina thought, looking at her nails, uninterested.

Julia immediately recognized the bag on the bed of the first bedroom. It was Jin's jet black training bag, with the flamed tips of his fighting pants daintily dropped outside of the zipper. There was a cut in the film where someone must have edited it, before the original footage continued.

Jin crawled in through the window, tossing the curtains aside as he folded his jet black wings behind his shoulders. _So like him_. Julia never could convince him to use discretion. With surprising dexterity, however, the feathery tufts disappeared under his black overcoat, shrinking almost visibly as he made his way to his bag. This was obviously choreographed; he kept the bag in exactly the same position, just moving an item or two that wasn't really necessary. What was he doing? Julia had absolutely no idea.

Days went by, and each time Jin entered through the window, moving a towel here, his bag there, once even waving his hand in front of the eyes of a sleeping guard to ensure he was asleep, before continuing to rummage. Each time, the plumes of his jet black wings would tuck, until he tossed them out gloriously and went out the way he came.

It was pretty safe to assume the Tekken Force didn't know about what he did. It was even safer to assume that, when the days following showed sweep upon sweep by Tekken Force soldiers and no sign of Jin, that he had found greener pastures.

"Where are you?" Julia whispered to the tiny pixilated form on the screen. "Where did you disappear to?"

As more and more files were uncovered by the computer, Julia was once again bombarded with the intensity and vastness of web information. Here was Kazuya's room, there was the back ally behind Jin's room with a view of the balcony, here was the Korean military. It wasn't until a file named Ling.avi. When Julia opened it, she found the image of Ling Xiaoyu's room.

Nina glanced up and watched Xiaoyu as she tore through her closet on the screen, dropping items carelessly on Panda as she searched for something. "Ew, what pervert put a camera in her room?" Nina muttered, wrinkling one side of her nose.

"Why would they monitor her? I haven't turned up any video surveillance of the other fighters," Julia lied. She wasn't entirely comfortable mentioning Jin's surveillance, in case Nina should become curious as to Jin's 'condition.'

"I don't know, she's a sketchy character. Pigtails, bright colors… The kind of person you search in the airport all of the time," Nina sarcastically said.

Julia didn't answer. She had been fast forwarding everything, flying through Xiaoyu's life at 4x the normal pace, skipping parts where she was gone to other places. When the wash of night came and the camera went to night vision, Julia saw the tiny form of Ling Xiaoyu resting peacefully, arm behind curved behind her head as Panda slept on the floor. When Panda urgently sat up, Julia snapped the time back to 1x. She went to the window. Nudging open the lock, Panda pushed back the curtains as none other than Jin Kazama slid through.

"What's happening?" Nina asked nonchalantly, as if they were watching a sitcom she wasn't particularly interested in.

"I don't…" Julia stammered. Jin's wings were in full view, and Panda seemed to demand an explanation. It was hard to tell; no audio, and Panda's form of communication paired together seemed to make it impossible to translate. He must have explained everything to her, because she had to fast forward again at least fifteen minutes before anything changed. Panda, stationed by the window, looked on as Jin knelt on Xiaoyu's bed, her hair spread on her pillow, his hand by her forearm as he leaned forward-

The image disappeared as Julia wiped the screen clean with a few deft strokes.

"No good?" Nina asked.

Julia felt like she must have swallowed her tongue, because there was a lump in her chest the size of her heart. Desperately composing herself, she stood up, and said "I need to, I need to analyze, look for other things, this isn't working, it's no good, no good at all!"

Nina, albeit surprised, said nothing, wandering through her own mind and her own issues instead.

* * *

Baek and Steve had gone to check out the upper floors, knocking on doors and asking people about suspicious activity. Hwoarang had the much less person, less awkward, and more expansive job of the car port, the main floor including the bar, and the gym. His quest for Jin was somewhat halfhearted, however. The other half was in the hospital, worried to death about a poor, injured friend.

_Friend, interesting choice of words,_ he chided himself. That was the word she used for him though. That, and that she "doesn't hate him." What's that even supposed to mean? Whatever it meant, it occurred to Hwoarang that it had absolutely nothing to do with examining the main floors.

He trailed through the bar, which she dragged him back from after he got himself into more than he could handle. _Dammit__, keep a hold of yourself!_ Snapping out of it, Hwoarang dutifully waved to the few drinkers, the barkeep, and the people sitting at tables. He didn't see any familiar Jin crowded into any corner, any more than he could see the Pope dancing the jig on one of the tables.

Wandering along, he swept through the gym where he had indirectly made her cry. The locker he had slammed into Jin's face was still dented. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Jin's face here anymore. He had clearly cut and run, and he had gotten pretty far away from the looks of it. There was no sign of anything, not a drop of blood, that might have been Jin's.

Finally, he rested in the Parking garage. "No memories here," he said to his motorcycle as he passed it with a friendly pat. Well, only memories of a gunfight and Jin bashing through several expensive cars as if they were Hot Wheels. At the moment? Those were infinitely preferable.

"Why do I always run into you here?" a voice called from a ways away.

His rival. His nemesis. He knew the voice just a little too well, and he realized quickly that this wouldn't be as easy. It didn't occur to him that he just might get taken captive in the midst of his little venture.

"Why do you keep LOOKING for me, don't you people realize I don't want to go with you?" Hwoarang snapped, whirling around.

It was the General in charge of his own division. He knew the face well; while Corporal Pak had been in charge of his immediate regiment, this was the man responsible for every punishment and every touch of misery that Hwoarang had to suffer through over the course of his military service. This was the man who was the root of all evil.

"Don't worry, the Tekken Force won't be showing up to help you. I'm here with official permission this time," General Hong said. "And we come with a simple proposition."

Hwoarang was tense. A simple proposition was never simple in the world of Military politics. His fingers lingered next to the handles of his motorcycle. He had to make sure there was a way out.

"I have a way to keep you out of the military for good," the General explained. He took a slow step forward. That sounded promising, but it was like medicine in advertising; the list of side effects was the most important.

"Keep talking," Hwoarang urged.

The General smiled, and Hwoarang immediately vowed not to get hooked, like this General obviously already thought he was. "I knew that would interest you. I'll give you the catch first."

_Well, at least we're being up front about all of this,_ Hwoarang muttered sarcastically in his head. There would never be only one catch.

"Finish up your required military service," General Hong said.

Hwoarang groaned. "This again. It's always this. You say that, I say I refuse to go back, blah blah blah, you threaten me with the death penalty, yaddah yaddah yaddah, one two skip a few, I kick your ass and you waste our good nation's precious tax dollars on hunting down your favorite redheaded renegade just for the sake of pushing him in the army."

"If you finish the last few months, you'll be pardoned of your charges and allowed to change citizenship."

Hwoarang stared at General Hong. Suddenly, he found out what it was like to be floored and hit the ceiling at the same time. "You can't expect me to believe that," Hwoarang crossed his arms and leaned against the motorcycle.

"We're sick of fighting. You're a high profile fighter and you're nationally obligated to finish up your contract. Once the contract is over? You're free. Completely. Utterly. Free." General Hong was, indeed, the man standing before Hwoarang. General Hong didn't seem to be joking, and Hwoarang couldn't see any men with machine guns hiding in the shadows, waiting for Hwoarang to make a wrong move.

"Yeah right. If this were legit we wouldn't be having this conversation in the parking lot of a hotel!" Hwoarang cried.

"Would you have preferred an official business letter with the Korean Embassy's crest delivered right to 123 Sesame St., which you so generously provided as your address?" General Hong snorted. "Don't believe me? Here's the contract."

* * *

Xiaoyu's slippers touched the bright, soft wood. She felt like a princess, wafting down the hallway of her castle, surveying the gold statues of a friendly Buddha the stately pillars, the vibrant torches, the distant form of a crucifix. The rich brown color was so beautiful; she was so happy she had come early, just to take this moment to appreciate the location of her next fight.

_It's so beautiful…_ she thought. If only Panda could see it. The guards had made her wait in the courtyard outside. It had been years since she had been in here. The true Mishima Zaibatsu. It made the other one look like an impersonator, a corporate, bureaucratic disguise. Here was the spirit of the Zaibatsu. For a very brief moment, she felt homesick. For, in that moment, she felt like she was at home.

"I remember you." The voice brought her out of that. The true heir of the household, Kazuya, stood in front of her. His red eye sized her up, and the torchlight flickered over his pale scar.

"Oh, right, hi," she bowed out of politeness. "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier this week."

A slow smile passed over his face, like a dreaming demon. "Oh, don't worry… I'll show you the true meaning of fear."


	30. Chapter 30: On the Verge

**Chapter Thirty: ****On ****The**** Verge**

"Well, Hwoarang is gone, Baek left in his shadow…" Julia began. She didn't finish. Her laptop beeped cheerily to say that it had finished uploading, and Julia gleefully opened up AIM to see if Michelle, her guardian, was online.

"Do you believe in Angels and Demons?" Nina asked.

"Like the Dan Brown book?" Julia picked at her shoe as she watched AIM load.

"After all of this? I would believe it if you said Santa Claus was playing cards with Elvis over in Never Never Land," Steve muttered.

"Would you promise not to tell me what I'm about to say sounds trite?" Nina turned over and caught his eye out of the corner of his eyes.

"…I just said 'Never Never land,' who am I to judge?" Steve smiled encouragingly.

After a pause, Nina collected all of the thoughts that had wandered through her mind, lining them up as she began to speak. "Do you ever get that feeling like there's something bigger going on than just a Tournament? Or just a love triangle? Or just… our conflict? There's an undercurrent of something big going on, something heaven and earth kind of big. I don't know what this 'Devil Gene' is, but the metaphor works."

"You're right," Julia said. "That does sound trite." When Nina gave her a dirty look, Julia just shrugged and said "I promised nothing…" She smiled slightly.

"Hmm." Steve tossed his hair for a moment. "Kazuya has that, right?"

"Yup." Julia looked back down to her computer, scanning her buddy list. "He passed it onto Jin. Somehow… Heihachi never managed to replicate it, though. At least, not to my knowledge."

"And that's why they… made me?" Steve gave Nina a sideways look, avoiding eye contact. "Out of Kazuya?"

"We don't know that yet…" Julia murmured, dodging the question. "For all we know, your Dad could be Joe cool and you and Jin aren't half-brothers, or anything weird like that…"

"Even if we look like we could be," Steve pressed.

"Even if… coincidence." Julia tried to distract herself by looking up plane tickets. She would have to get home very soon, or else her job at the research clinic might disappear out from underneath her.

"Do you really think she can do it?" Steve pretended to be very preoccupied with the plant next to his chair, as if trying to identify it. "I mean, she beat you and Christie, but she beat Hwoarang and Bryan under slightly… 'modified' circumstances. Heihachi and Kazuya…" It took a moment for everyone to realize that he was talking about Xiaoyu. Fortunately, Nina didn't meditate long enough on it to realize she had just been insulted.

"Let's just say I'm hoping the equilibrium of good and evil doesn't hang in the balance, for all of our sakes." Nina slumped deeper into her chair, crossing her ankles on the coffee table, across from where Steve was sitting.

_Oh ye of little faith_ Julia thought, pulling up a good deal from Tokyo airport. In all fairness, though, she wasn't quite sure she saw Xiaoyu managing to pound Kazuya and Heihachi into the floor successively either.

"What kind of plant do you think this is?" He tugged at one of the leaves, looking at it closely.

"A fern." Julia didn't even look up from Ticket Master.

"Like, a fern fern, or is there something special about it?" he asked.

"_Polystichum__setiferum_, which grows in England. And Ireland. Just a plain old, garden variety fern. Pardon the pun!" She tossed a slightly patronizing smile at him.

"You should go on Jeopardy, you're a wellspring of useless knowledge…" Steve muttered.

"Knowing the binomial nomenclature for a fern is useful!" Julia protested.

"To a botanist." Nina pointed out, sharing a small smile with Steve.

"To a… Whatever, I won't be seeing many of them anymore anyway once I go back to America…" Julia sighed. Just buying the ticket seemed depressingly committal. She felt so useless, so far away from where the action was.

"And I'll be back in the foggy mires of England shortly…" Steve added. It all felt so incomplete to him, like leaving the theatre before seeing the ending of a good movie.

"The green green hills of Ireland." Nina would have thought about how nervous she was about the balance of good evil, but she was through with thinking. Out loud, she said: "God, I wish I just knew what was going on in there!"

* * *

Standing in front of Kazuya was like seeing the Mr. Hyde to Jin's Dr. Jekyll. There was no way of telling, no way of knowing where the evil was by looking at one, and yet, seeing the other dispelled any doubt that it slept somewhere deep inside.

He looked so much like Jin. Just ruffle his hair, and Jin would be standing there.

But Jin wasn't there.

Xiaoyu was alone. Again.

"You've never gotten this far before." It wasn't a question, it was an observation, spoken down on her form as she slid off her coat.

"No, I haven't, I've never been so fortunate," Xiaoyu draped her coat over the edge of a railing, hesitating, since it looked about as far away from a coat rack as she could come.

"Fortune was left at the door." With a firm shift of his upper body, Kazuya's fist crashed into her stomach. "There with rules-" his knuckles cracked into her stomach again- "fair fight" a third time, his fist rammed into her "and good ol' fashioned common courtesy." He jumped up, crashing each foot in turn into her jaw and her chin. Xiaoyu flew back in surprise. There was no announcer, no speaker- no holds barred.

"…Ow," she stammered, scrambling to her feet.

His smile self-important and his reflexes lighting quick, he dropped to a crouch. As he curved into an uppercut she sidestepped and whipped her palm into his spine. She was met with flesh and blood, unlike Bryan's steely form.

Kazuya was just as unresponsive to pain, however. Rolling forward he rammed his foot in the ground and launched towards her. Xiaoyu ducked desperately, and his ankle glazed her shoulder. Wincing but recouping, she entered her fighting stance. Kazuya turned and faced her. A cool, ghostly smile traced from one side of his face to the other.

"What are you smiling about," she asked, wrinkling her nose in an attempt to look challenging. She could sense from the extension of his smile that she had failed.

"You squash like dough." Sweeping towards her, she twirled on her toes, dropped to the ground and swept his feet out from under him.

"Guess you won't be 'kneading' those then," she said, bringing down her foot onto his stomach. "Hey, that was actually kind of sharp…" If not massively inappropriate for her situation.

Kazuya rolled up to his feet and planted his knuckles in her shoulder. She cried out, sliding back and dropping down again, she whipped her legs into two strong kicks followed by an upward sweep. Did it do any good? Well, he stumbled back. She honestly couldn't tell if he felt pain, or if he was even capable of feeling pain. At the moment, she had decided that no matter what, planting hits was better than receiving them.

Seeming aggravated, Kazuya whipped out two quick punches and a kick to the liver. It was like throwing rocks at a bees nest, except the bees were one immense figure and her fists were proportionally smaller. Recovering, she charged him with her shoulder. Desperation? Just maybe. The blade of her shoulder caught him in his chest cavity, and he flew back into a post. The post, splintering and cracking, fell, and came down; right on top of Kazuya.

"I don't know my own strength…!" she mused comfortingly to herself. She waited for him to push the wood board off, to get up, and to come back and rip her a new one. She was waiting for it. He was failing to deliver, however. "Kazuya..?"

"Well, that was fast." The deep, rich voice of Heihachi sounded from behind her.

Xiaoyu jumped as one of the walls opened up, and Heihachi approached, hands behind his back, expression somber, and his aura impressive. "It's only been one round," Xiaoyu said quickly.

"I don't think you understand Xiaoyu. Here, we fight until the opposition can fight no more." The dark nuance to his voice was disturbing; deep to Xiaoyu's very core, and her toes even tingled from the sense of evil she was getting. She looked over at Kazuya, who had barely managed to hoist the pole off of him, and was groaning on the ground.

"He could be seriously hurt-!" Xiaoyu started towards them.

"And it's all to your credit." Heihachi's smirk came from the knowledge that he had just hit a soft spot without even throwing a punch.

"Well, just… wait until you use what I do to you!" Xiaoyu shot back. That went over like a drop of water in the ocean. She tried to push aside her concern, her self-guessing, and her fears. This was war now. Heihachi's stone gargoyle face was set, the lines were drawn, and she would have to let loose.

Spinning around to hit Heihachi, she felt his fist in her back. She cried out but rammed her elbow into her stomach all the same. Hopping lightly on her toes, she circled Heihachi. He lunged, ramming his knee into hers. Stumbling backwards, she caught herself and whirled her legs to hit him a few more times.

Back and forth back and forth they went. Heihachi was almost relaxed. He was perfectly fresh, not a single fight behind him and not a single injury to hold him back. To add insult to injury, Xiaoyu was suffering from a distinct lack of energy. Her fastest was slowing by valuable moments, and his knuckles could connect with her any time he wanted

Suddenly, however, he stopped.

Xiaoyu almost blurted out "what's the big idea!" but she took the moment of respite to look where Heihachi was looking. Kazuya was to his feet. "But he was…" Xiaoyu began.

"I know what this is about," Kazuya shouted, swaying forward almost drunkenly from one foot to the other as he pointed accusingly at Heihachi.

"Do you know what this is about?" Heihachi whispered to Xiaoyu.

"Mmmm… nope," Xiaoyu admitted after searching her brain.

"Good." Heihachi straightened to his full height, towering at least six inches over her. "Such desperate words from a weak-minded fool," he scoffed at Kazuya, smiling down at him.

"So you were with him after all, my half…" Kazuya's voice had changed. It dropped an octave, colored with another sound that seemed to come from far away. Eyes flashing red as he too straightened up to a height taller than Heihachi, he only had eyes for the crucifix down the hall.

It was at that moment that Heihachi asked what seemed to Xiaoyu the stupidest question of his life: "Who are you?"

"He's your son-!" she stammered, elbowing him in the side, shocked at his indiscretion. She didn't want Kazuya any more pissed or speaking in any more voices than he felt he had to.

"I am what you refer to as 'Devil.' Twenty years ago, I lost a part of myself when you nearly killed me." The accusing red eyes bore down on Heihachi, and suddenly Xiaoyu realized it hadn't been so stupid of a question. Now I'll retrieve what's rightfully mine from him! The time has come for my resurrection!"

"Oh." Xiaoyu blinked, taking a step away from Heihachi and walking away from him, looking from the foyer she was standing in down the long, thin hallway to where the shrine and crucifix was. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure why there would be a crucifix in a Buddhist temple…

"You saved me the trouble of having to search for him. For your trouble, I'll give you a taste of my power!" Kazuya waved his hand, and before Xiaoyu could even turn around, Heihachi had already started flying. Heihachi cried as he flew back, and the sickening crunch was heard as his spine crashed through a pair of doors into a back room.

"AH!" Xiaoyu jumped, leaning back against the railing her coat dangled from. Kazuya didn't even notice her tiny form. He only had eyes for Heihachi, and those eyes glowed with satanic anger.

"What's the matter? Didn't your precious science provide all of the answers you needed about my power?" he scorned with a laugh. Xiaoyu wasn't sure she remembered "Devil 101," but then again, she lived in a changing world.

Tearing his eyes away from the crumpled old man who was desperately crawling out of the back room and back into the temple, he turned around, and started towards the alter. Xiaoyu suddenly felt dizzy. It was like taking a sleeping pill, and feeling the effects come and crawl through one's system an hour or so after it was appropriate. Steadying herself on the railing, however, she couldn't slake her curiosity- she followed him.

Kazuya's purposeful strides launched him forward, and he was at the other side of the room fast. She jogged to keep up, and until she reached him she didn't bother to look up at the crucifix. The very unusual crucifix. There, arms outstretched as chains bound him between two pillars, was Jin Kazama.

Jin.

He wasn't moving, his head bowed forward and eyes closed. Xiaoyu felt a moment of panic. Was he… Kazuya held up his hand, and Jin's skin was engulfed in a rich purple flame, crawling across his arms and chest.

"What are you doing?!" Xiaoyu screamed. But suddenly, it all became painfully clear. It made as much sense as anything else that happened. All she knew was she couldn't let him do this; she was the only one between Kazuya and Jin right now.

And for a brief, irrational moment, it seemed like a pretty good place to be.

Swiftly punching Kazuya in the back of the neck, she cried "Hey, why don't you pick on someone who isn't chained to the wall?" Putting her hands on her hips, she added "or is that just the only way you'll do it?"

When Kazuya turned around and those fiery red eyes met hers, she had to wipe the smile off of her face. _Focus… you can do this…_ she thought. It was when Kazuya charged her and began to hammer his fists into her chest that she began to second guess herself.

Responding in kind, she unleashed everything she had in her. Every move, every punch, every kick she had ever learned, every insult she had ever received, every moment of disappointment and frustration, and every ounce of speed and agility her body was physically capable of. Her phantom exhaustion loomed at the edge of her mind, but at the moment she didn't care—she simply plowed forward.

And Kazuya couldn't do anything about it. She had the upper hand.

Overwhelmed with the promise of beating down the Devil fair and square, she squared her shoulders for her final hit. He stood, and watched her, attempting to anticipate it while watching her with his glowing eyes expectant.

When she wound up for the punch, however, all energy, clarity and strength vanished from her system. Overwhelmed by another sudden, strong swoon, she staggered and began to lose her footing. The edges of her eyes lost focus, and Kazuya found the perfect opportunity to unleash a combo on her.

First went her shins with a kick that seemed to snap them. Then, a powerful blow to the stomach brought her to her knees, and a third and final uppercut launched her into the air, and worse, into a solid gold statue of Buddha. About seven different bones crunched at once, and she couldn't even be sure where the pain was coming from anymore. Her mind was in a fog, swirling with something like morphine pulsing through her system. What had she been given that could cause this? In the end, it didn't matter what her mind or body felt like.

This is what failure felt like.

She curled up in a small ball in the middle of the floor. So close… she could touch it with her fingers, the Zaibatsu… standing here in front of the man who had created it, she had fought him with all she had and found herself lacking. Her mind tore through plan upon plan of ways to just get back to her feet.

A blur passed across Xiaoyu's eyes, and she saw Kazuya's feet pass in front of her. He stood, feet planted on the floor as he looked up at Jin's chained form. She had never sensed so much hate in one man in her life; it made the furious fire that burned in Bryan seem like the flame of a lighter.

When Kazuya started whispering hoarsely, however, Xiaoyu could have sworn she saw Jin move. "Give in to the anger…" Kazuya prompted. His arms crossed as he surveyed Jin, his voice was as harsh as sandpaper. "Hate me! Curse me! Give in to the anger!" Jin writhed and pulled, tossing and turning like he was having a nightmare, but the chains held steadfast as he swung from between the poles. Tossing back his arm, completely irreverent to the crumbled girl behind him, he shouted "Hate me! Curse me!"

Jin convulsed. Xiaoyu clawed for the statue next to her. Planting her feet on the floor, she managed to rise, oh so slightly, from the floor. He looked like he was in so much pain!

"RISE, JIN KAZAMA!" Kazuya shouted.

As if on cue, Jin ripped the chains from their foundations. It reminded Xiaoyu of the moment Professor Frankenstein brought his monster forth, raised from the dead into animation. Jin landed on the ground, falling to his knees as the chains coiled off of his arms and tumbled to the floor. Breathless, furious, Jin staggered to his feet. "You…" his eyes rested on Kazuya accusingly. "If only you were dead…Once I kill you, it'll all be over!"

Xiaoyu tried to shout, tried to say something, but her words were swallowed in the cry that passed as father and son each tore forward, each begging for the blood of the other. An ethereal purple glow surrounded Jin, and when he landed the first punch it threw Kazuya back a good thirty feet. Flabbergasted, Xiaoyu clung to the base of her statue.

All hell broke loose right in front of her.

Kazuya sprung to his feet, and growled, preparing his strongest uppercut, but it was cut short by Jin's fervent fists digging deeper and deeper into Kazuya. She had never seen Jin so swift, so fierce, and so focused. Driven by the same powerful force, Kazuya responded in kind, with far more brutal aggression than he had ever unleashed on Xiaoyu. Head to head and neck and neck, neither one seemed able to make headway over the other.

Everything was so fuzzy, though, she really couldn't be sure sometimes which was which. They weaved and danced through the pillars, chasing after each other, but they seemed to be disappearing into shadows before her eyes. What was happening? Her muscles were withering away, and her feet shook underneath her at the effort it took for her to stay standing.

A sickening thud sounded from the other side of the temple. Xiaoyu looked up suddenly, struggling to see down the expansive hall. She noticed Heihachi, who she had left on the ground, was curving his arm underneath him in an attempt to lift himself. The steady footfalls approaching, however, were not welcoming. She could sense that awful aura that always hung off of Kazuya getting closer and closer.

"Heihachi-" Xiaoyu began in warning. Her words were swallowed up, however, by Heihachi himself.

"What a pathetic wretch. A worthless coward. I will make your power mine… time to die, boy!" Heihachi screamed. With powerful agility, he jumped to his feet.

That aura wasn't coming from Kazuya. It was coming from Jin. And Jin's eyes saw only Heihachi as he preened himself for battle. Without a word, he tore forward, and landed his fist in Heihachi's stomach. The old man grunted, but Jin's fists were faster than the sound and he charged him with three more punches and a kick before sending him to the ground with another powerful blow.

Heihachi slumped to the floor, surprisingly limp. Xiaoyu caught her gasp in her mouth, and Jin leaned over, ripping Heihachi to his feet, holding him like a dancer holds his partner in a low dip. Drawing his fist back, he aligned every muscle he had for one final blow- the last one Heihachi would ever receive. Wings fanned out from his shoulder blades, a dark shadow in her blurred vision.

An involuntary sniff escaped Xiaoyu. Jin looked up quickly, right in her direction. Slumping lower, clutching to the gold statue and trying to hide in its gold sheen, she tucked her face into her arm. Her tears were warm on her face—but his eyes were cold on her back.

It felt like forever before she heard another sound. All she could hear was the sound of heavy breathing, a gentle rustle of fabric, and more painful than anything else: silence.

Finally, Jin's low voice purred: "Thank my mother…Jun Kazama." A dark rim had welled around the edges of Xiaoyu's vision. The voice sounded so far away, it echoed through the passage of space to Xiaoyu. Jin dropped Heihachi, who seemed momentarily stunned. Then he turned, and his eyes found Xiaoyu.

Fingers scrambling against the statue, she fought the dizziness, the tiredness, and most of all, the pain. As she fought to right herself in time, she could see the rhythmic steps he took towards her. With each blink she found him disturbingly closer. How fast was he moving? She felt like she was wading through water, how could he be so swift?

Now he was right in front of her.

At eye level with his chest, where dark, demonic symbols sloped around the muscles of his chest, she felt a shock of fear. His eyes, rested on her, and his hands came for her.

She might have screamed. Or she might have started crying. Or both. She couldn't feel either—all she felt was a firm arm sweep her legs out from under her. The dizzying moment of free fall was interrupted by him catching her, and lifting her up. "What do I DO?!" she asked herself. Out loud. Oops.

"Just rest, Xiao." His eyes met hers for the first time since he had torn the chains, broken down his father and nearly killed his grandfather. Since the ethereal purple light had swallowed him up and long wings sprouted from his shoulder blades. They were still the same, gentle, brown eyes.

"Oh… okay…" she murmured. Her instinct panicked, certain of her impending doom, but somehow her peace of mind pushed it down far away. This was Jin. He had taken her up in his arms, he wouldn't hurt her. He nestled her into his chest, curving his shoulders over her as he crouched down, before leaping up swiftly.

A rush of wind blew her bangs from her face and she heard Heihachi cried out and stumbled back as if struck by a powerful, sonic boom. The only sound Xiaoyu could hear, though, was the sound of wind and the sharp crunch of wooden boards. She only felt the dust and splinters for an instant before it was replaced with the wondrous feeling of air flying past, smooth as the air passing her on roller coaster rides.

Was that her heart pounding in her ears? Was it Jin's? Did he have a heart? Tightening her grip around his shoulder, she really couldn't care for the answer. She was lulled to sleep by the gentle sound, the soft air, and the perfume of relief.

Down, far beneath them in the Mishima Zaibatsu, the dust swirled down with the shower of feathers. Black and sleek as they oscillated through the air, they tumbled to the ground on the displaced boards. And among them, catching the traces of moonlight from the hole in the roof, weaved one white feather.


	31. Chapter 31: Virtual Reality

**Chapter Thirty One: Virtual Reality**

A gentle hand touched her cheek. Wondering if this is what a hangover felt like, Xiaoyu sat up groggily, her head pounding as her dark eyes opened. Deep dark eyes met hers, piercing the blackness. "Jin..?" she murmured to the shadow before her.

"Xiao…" The nickname, spoken so fondly, soothed her nerves as she closed her eyes.

"I lost… Jin, I lost… what'll I do?" The taste of defeat was too bitter for her to swallow. She found tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

There was silence in the darkness, but she could feel her bed sink as weight was added to it. She felt the brush of feathers, like someone had trailed a boa across her cheek, and rustling like a bird nesting in the dark could be heard. Curious. Fingers touched her cheek as a gentle breeze lifted her hair, sweaty and sticky, from her forehead. The warmth of a hand, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, the rhythmic throb of her headache and the wafting breeze caressing her cheek were the balm of Gods. She closed her eyes, just for a moment, to save this, savor it, and remember it. She could have sworn she felt a gentle pinch. Wrinkling her nose and rolling over, she tried not to let it interrupt her moment.

When she opened her eyes, it was broad daylight, there were doctors everywhere and the balmy breeze had fled and taken her comfort with it. The loud jabbering, beeping and swaying of the doctors and their emergency kits were not the best lullaby.

"What's going on..?" Xiaoyu murmured.

An awed hush fell over the room. Half a dozen pairs of eyes rested on her. One pair in particular, belonging to a small Japanese girl, caught Xiaoyu's attention.

"Miharu?" Xiaoyu murmured.

"XIAOYU!" Miharu screeched.

Xiaoyu winced, but she couldn't have expected anything less from Miharu. "Oh my gosh, when did you get here? Did you see my last fight?"

Miharu paused. She looked at the doctors, as if she were getting permission to tell Xiaoyu some great secret. Xiaoyu watched them pass some mysterious knowledge through their eyes, before Miharu said "I've been here since you went into a coma," Miharu said. She tiptoed around the words, and it took a moment for them to sink in to Xiaoyu's poor battered brain.

"What…? A coma…? How did- When did- what? I CAN'T be in a coma, I mean, I just got out of a fight, they didn't beat me that bad," Xiaoyu stammered confusedly.

"Beat? What are you talking about, Xiaoyu? You won!" Miharu grinned broadly, as if the news would somehow chase away all the clouds swarming around Xiaoyu's heart.

"I…. I thought…" Xiaoyu stopped. She looked at all of the doctors. They were writing things down awful fast, catching nearly every word she said in their paper charts, whispering theories to one another. "How did I win?" she asked.

"Weeeeeell… That's where things get a little weird, see, because no one actually watches or supervises the final fight. The boss's orders, you know, that kind of thing. How it's supposed to work out is the winner goes to the registration desk, yaddah yaddah, fill out paper work, there's a lot of politics involved… you know, bureaucratic crap."

She had never been debriefed of that, but she nodded anyway. "So... I beat Heihachi and Kazuya?"

Clearly Heihachi's name was not a good one to mention at the moment. There were looks cast, as people prepared to shift blame in typical ladder-climbing fashion. Miharu's smile froze and she dropped it, rolling her eyes. "You weren't supposed to think about him just yet," she muttered. "God, girl, there's so much you missed… Heihachi's dead, babe."Dead. "Dead dead?" Xiaoyu asked tentatively.

"Yeah, he's…. he's pretty dead," Miharu confirmed. "Kazuya fell off the face of the Earth too. To be honest, you're the only competitor who's still sticking around. You're the only one who could possibly have won."

"I don't remember going to registration and filling out paperwork," Xiaoyu admitted.

"Hah, yeah, well, you didn't. Panda and I found you in your hotel room, with the window blown out of the wall..." She paused, noticing Xiaoyu's confused expression. "I was going to try and surprise you by showing up the last day," she explained.

"Awww…" Xiaoyu smiled. That was a really sweet thought, she would have enjoyed that if she hadn't been comatose.

"You wouldn't believe it, there were shards of glass and feathers everywhere!" Miharu searched Xiaoyu's face for an answer to this indescribable mystery.

"Feathers? Like, Jin feathers?" she asked.

Miharu blinked. Looking over at the doctors out of the corner of her eye, she said "No… Jin's been gone for a long time, he even missed his match against Kazuya… There were dozens of black feathers everywhere, like someone maimed a crow or something."

"Oh. It wasn't me," Xiaoyu rested back onto her pillow, looking at the ceiling.

"I told you she wasn't mentally stable," a cool voice purred. Xiaoyu wrinkled her nose. She knew what was coming. Lee walked over to her. His hair was silver again, plain as if it had never been another color.

Miharu looked up at him and smiled. "He's been keeping a close watch, you know, taking care of you himself."

"Taking care of…" Looking into Lee's face, she was pretty certain pretty quickly what kind of 'taking care of' he would be responsible for. With all the sleezy honey of a used car dealer, he smiled at her.

"Indeed, and a lot of care is required… it would appear she's suffering from some sort of trauma aside from the physical. Wouldn't you say, doctor?" Lee came over to one of the doctors, staring down at him imploringly.

"I… well, it's possible that the strenuous circumstance she has been under as a competitive athlete that she suffered from a psychological disorder…"

"Huh-what?" Miharu asked, taking Xiaoyu's hand gently. "In English, please."

"Brain damage," Lee clarified.

"Hah, you can't seriously believe that," Xiaoyu moved a bit of hair out of her face. "Just ask anyone in the tournament, I'm just as sane as the rest of them." It didn't occur to her until after she said that, that it wasn't exactly an effective argument with all of the nut jobs in the tournament.

A gentle scratching could be heard on the other side of the door. "It's that damn panda again…" Lee muttered. He cast a dirty look at an intern, who scurried to the door with a broom as if to try and shoo away a full grown panda with it.

"Let Panda in!" Xiaoyu said quickly.

There was a moment of pause as everyone looked at one another, as if questioning the best mode of action. Miharu waved to the intern, and Xiaoyu felt a breath of relief- Miharu would set them straight, she knew Panda.

"I don't think that's the best idea, keep that panda out of here," Miharu said.

Xiaoyu stared at the stranger who looked a lot like Miharu, sitting at the foot of the bed. Suddenly, it all seemed clear. "You're in it with him," she murmured, eyes wide as she investigated her "friend."

"Xiaoyu, I'm just trying to do the best for your health," Miharu patted Xiaoyu's hand gently, but Xiaoyu tore it away.

"You're on his side. I'll bet that pinch in the middle of the night was you guys, giving me something to keep me unconscious until it was convenient for me to wake up," she exclaimed.

"I don't think she's in the… proper mental state to be in charge of the Zaibatsu," Lee said, smiling the most wicked smile at her. "As her next of kin, I would be more than happy to take over until she is feeling… well."

* * *

Xiaoyu left the window open whenever she could. She wasn't even sure why, come to think of it. There had been a formal hearing to prove that Jin hadn't ever appeared at her window, and there was video evidence from every night she spent at the hotel to prove it. In spite of that, and the chilly draft that swept over her bed with every gust of wind, she left her window open at all times. 

Curled up in a fetal position as cold air poured over her paper-thin blanket, Xiaoyu tried to convince herself that she was warm and asleep, curled up in her own bed. For someone who was insane, though, she found she really couldn't convince herself that reality wasn't really real. She hadn't heard from Hwoarang or Julia, and sometimes she wondered if they had even been her friends. Maybe they, and Baek, and Steve, and Nina, hadn't really come by to visit her. Or maybe they were all in on it with Miharu. But Panda... thinking about Panda made her miss her, and it hurt way too much.

She could have sworn she heard the door open and close. Curling up tighter, Xiaoyu felt a wash of dread. Another nurse. Probably some sort of shot or pill, something to make it all better—that is, after she threw up, or found her brain spinning from whatever they were putting into her. When she felt the mattress shift as someone sat next to her, she was reminded, albeit briefly, of a wonderful, warm memory that she only hoped was real.

"Why do I always catch you when your asleep?" The voice, male and familiar, sent another curve ball to Xiaoyu.

"Jin?!" Coming out of her position and sitting up, she found herself curiously face to face with her high school friend, and he looked just as tangible and real as the times he came and spent the night in her room. She had to remind herself that those had never happened. "How did you do that…?" she thought. _Because he's not real._ The revelation was depressing; she decided she'd rather not mention to Jin that he wasn't real. "I feel like my head is swimming…"

"Tell it to get out of the pool, then," he remarked.

No matter how many times she told herself that it was a dream, and she would wake up any minute, though, she couldn't convince her heart that he wasn't there, and her brain that she was actually asleep and therefore capable of dreaming to begin with. But he had to be a hallucination: Jin doesn't make jokes.

After her silence, he said "Yeah, see? This is why I don't make jokes. It's a lot easier to be suave when you're serious."

"I think I must be dreaming…" Xiaoyu lay back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

"If you were dreaming, there would be roller coasters and cotton candy stands. Since there aren't any, I guess you're not," he replied.

Xiaoyu sat up again, examining him closely.

"If you keep doing that, you're going to sprain your spine or something." Jin noticed her confusion after he said that. "Lying down and sitting up like that. Seriously, pick one and commit to it before you slip a disc."

"You don't know about my dream," Xiaoyu told the apparition. "You never did, I never told you what it was. How would you guess I wanted to build an Amusement Park? That's absolutely insane! How could you think I'd believe that?" Stubbornly, she put her back to the bed and stared upwards. She wasn't going to be fooled by this, she was going to improve so she wouldn't have to stay here anymore.

Jin smiled mysteriously. He was obviously expecting her to ask that. "I asked Panda what you were planning to do with the Zaibatsu. She told me." He pulled his leg up onto the bed, and looked down at his nicely polished shoes pensively. "She says she's sorry, by the way. For telling. And that she misses you… you know… normal sentimental fluff. I guess she's allowed to be fluffy, though, she is a Panda…"

Xiaoyu couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Hah, hey, maybe I'm not a total loss." Jin smiled, brushing a hair from her face. It felt tangible, but it could so easily be the wind catching her hair as she talked to nothing but air. Searching his face, she wanted to believe he was really there, and that it was really him on her bedside. How could she be sure? She had been so certain that he had held her hand one of the nights in the hotel, but once again, that never happened. Was she relying on another memory? She was getting a headache just thinking about it.

"Do you think I'll get out of here?" she asked the phantom Jin. "Do you think I'll be able to actually do my dream, see Panda again, and stop having weird visions?"

Jin raised an incredulous eyebrow at the last part of her little speech, but he answered: "You took a pounding from Bryan. You took a pounding from Kazuya, and then another one from Heihachi." She was beginning to wonder where he was going with all of this. It was a little humbling to be told how much you were beaten up by other people. "You took a pounding and kept standing… I don't see how your dream is anything but at hand."

That sounded a lot better. She could live with that praise. Rolling onto her side, she found the smooth, cool fabric of his pants meet the tip of her nose. Resting her hand on his leg, she lifted herself up. "How do I do that…? I don't have the Zaibatsu, I don't have money…"

"If you have a dream, you should make it happen yourself," Jin said softly.

Xiaoyu looked up. His features seemed so much clearer now, she was starting to come to a little better. Even her headache couldn't survive the relief it gave her to see a familiar face, even for a moment, just to break the chaos that seemed to have taken over her life and left her here, flat on her back, completely vulnerable and at the mercy of Lee's doctors.

"This may sound like a dumb question…. But are you real?" Xiaoyu asked.

Jin raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "I'm not sure how to answer that, I flunked at philosophy…" Noticing her confused expression, however, he realized that the question was literal. "Yes, I am real, tangible, and right here."

"I don't know what to do anymore… I feel like the longer I'm in here, the more I think I may actually be insane… it's starting to make a lot of sense, with the irrational visions, the evidence showing that you weren't there when I said you were…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jin's tone was defensive, and she could tell that it struck a chord.

"Oh, I don't mean it like that, it's just for some reason… it sounds really stupid…" she sat up again, this time staying up. She met Jin's eye only briefly. It felt strange to confess this to him. "I thought that you had stayed in my room a couple of times…" Quickly, she added "You slept on the floor. At least, I thought you did. But the videos of my room didn't have you in them…"

He was silent for a while at this one. She was certain she had somehow alienated him with her insane ramblings, so she stopped talking, burying her face in her legs. "I'm sorry, I'm just so confused…" she muttered. She felt his arm rest around her shoulders, and she nearly jumped. Yup, he was definitely real. Down to the fibers of his suit coat, and the shoulder her cheek was resting against.

"I was there, Xiaoyu," he said finally.

Xiaoyu looked up at him, sniffing. "But they said-"

"I swapped the videos in the programs mainframe so they wouldn't be able to track me. I did the same thing with my room, splicing the videos together and everything." Jin stopped. Thinking through all of the possibilities, he finally admitted "I'm an amateur, though, they should have been able to find the videos somewhere, since digital images aren't completely erased that way… someone would have had to go into the computer itself and-" Jin stopped. He only knew one person capable of doing that. "This is so confusing…" he agreed. "But I was there. I promise."

Xiaoyu let out a breath. She wasn't sure how that made her feel. She had been trying so hard to convince herself that those memories weren't real, that finding out that they were wasn't really any consolation.

"I'm going to go…" Jin lifted his arm off of Xiaoyu's shoulders, and she felt a rush of cold take his place. "I'm going to figure this out, find out what's going on behind all of this…"

"How will I know you're still there?" she asked. "Will you call me? Email me? Talk to me?" Suddenly, she felt all that she should have said after the third tournament bubble up out of her. "I don't want you to disappear, Jin, I want to keep you as a friend. Where will you be?"

Jin's eyes rested on hers for a long moment. She felt herself marveling over how dark and deep they seemed to be. They were like Panda's, with infinite depth, brought out by his wide, dark eyebrows. His mouth was drawn in a thin line, and his sharp features finally seemed softened. He took a step towards her, taking her hand in both of his.

"Somewhere far away, until I beat the devil inside me."

Xiaoyu blushed. She hung her head, her pigtails falling limply to the side. "I don't get it, do I?" she said finally. "I just can't help, can I?"

"That's not true." He paused. The silence that followed was a thick one. Xiaoyu could feel the tension in Jin's hands. It was like he was holding himself back from something; straining, but failing. Xiaoyu began to feel a little bit nervous. Was what Yoshimitsu said true? Was the "devil inside of him" not figurative, but real?

She felt one of Jin's fingers under her chin, tipping her head up. Before she had a chance to register exactly what was happening, she felt his lips brush against hers. It was so faint a feeling, like his smiles and his laughs. It was more like a specter was brushing against her than a human being. He moved away slowly. "Goodbye, Xiao."

Xiaoyu fell back onto her pillow, staring at the ceiling. "Unreal…" she murmured, curling up on the thin mattress again. "Absolutely unreal…"


	32. Chapter 32: Cycle of Abuse

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Cycle of Abuse**

"I don't believe it."

Xiaoyu tossed the announcement on her hospital bed with a birdlike flick of her wrist. The pages fluttered and settled onto the paper thin blanket covering her bed, and she promptly sat down on the floor across the room.

The King of the Iron Fist 5 Tournament was coming up. It had been a matter of months since the last official tournament, but Xiaoyu had been so close to winning the entire tournament the last time. It had been an exhilarating experience. She would meet new people, reunite with old friends, and be surrounded by the best fighters in the world. Sitting on her bed was a new opportunity for an adventure.

This was not necessarily good news, however. Her assets were on the line. The entire Mishima Zaibatsu would be hers as soon as she could prove that she wasn't insane, and that people were poising her food in order to keep her subdued and sedated. If Lee lost the tournament, he would lose the Zaibatsu.

"If Lee is even running the tournament," Xiaoyu said to herself. He

Unfortunately, the announcement didn't give the name of the person running the tournament. The return address was the generic one used for all of the Mishima Zaibatsu postage. Still Xiaoyu had a hunch about the identity of the person behind all of this.

"I haven't heard from him since that last tournament," Xiaoyu thought. "Jin… I would give anything to see him again, just to see a friendly face…" even if his face had been less than friendly when she saw him in the Mishima Zaibatsu. She had no idea what to make of him, or that mysterious kiss he gave her mere weeks ago. "Would I see him if I went? Jin would be there, he would HAVE to be there somewhere. And what about my dream?" With a wistful smile, Xiaoyu propped her chin on her hand. "Yes… I could make my dream come alive! It would be so incredible, oh; it's too big an opportunity to pass up!"

Not to mention she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Julia or Hwoarang. She had grown accustomed to their faces, their ploys, and their slightly underhanded ways of conducting friendship. And Panda. Oh she missed Panda. Just thinking about seeing Panda again would be reason enough to walk over burning coals. A part of her was worried she may have forgotten how to speak Panda speak, but she had been practicing on her sink so she wasn't too worried.

_But what about the danger?__Jin_ Xiaoyu paused. At the end of the last tournament, Yoshimitsu had taken her aside and explained all of it to her. All of this chaos that surrounded her, all of the evil that swirled around could be gone if Kazuya hadn't been thrown down the ditch by Heihachi when he was five. She was sure of it. She never heard mention of anyone who was possessed by Satan where it didn't come from some sort of trauma.

"I can have my dream…" Xiaoyu thought. The dream she hadn't told anyone about. The amusement park. But was that really her dream? Seeing the Mishima family in so much pain had hurt her so much. If she could only go back and time, and make it all better…

Maybe with money, she could. Not to mention the Mishima Zaibatsu. If she won again, there would be no way for Lee to take it back from her.

"King of the Iron Fist Tournament 5, here I come!"

**

* * *

A/N: IT'S DONE! I can't express how happy I am that it's DONE! Done done done done! Aaaaah, what a beautiful word:-)**

Just so you know the legacy behind this, I started writing this in 2003 (check the publication date. Scary, huh?) and I basically stopped updating for two or three years. One day, I came back, picked it back up, decided I liked it and that I wanted to finish it. 

**This is the second full - length story I've every finished, and the first novel I finished hasn't been finished since the summer of 2002! I'm incredibly proud:-D**

Thank you for all of the faithful reviews, the constructive criticism, and the feedback. Some things (like Hwoarang's country of origin) were done on purpose, but other ones were definitely unintentional and I appreciated the feedback.

**LOVE YOU GUYS! I hope you loved my story!**

**I'll be publishing more oneshots and another fic sometime soon(ish), and I hope you have lucrative success as writers!**


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